Shot Down
by IBD Ninja
Summary: Henry knew taking a job as a superhero sidekick would be dangerous, but when the violence gets worse and his heart can't seem to tell him what to think, both he and his lifelong best friend Charlotte realize that things are changing- in more ways than one.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone! I'm posting my first fanfic today! I really hope you guys love it and will come back for more! I will do my best to have another chapter done and ready to publish in a week! Please forgive me if I'm late! WARNING: EPISODE SPOILERS THROUGHOUT THE STORY, AS WELL AS POSSIBLE REFERENCES TO FUTURE EPISODES! Enjoy!**

Henry put his thumb to the scanner on his school locker, feeling kinda depressed. And confused; A lot had been going on in the past few weeks, most of these events negative.

First, his girlfriend- his ex girlfriend, now- Bianca broke up with him for the same reason another girl dumped him once before. Then he accidentally revealed his biggest, don't-tell-a-soul secret to his friend Jasper when a misunderstanding lead Henry to think Jasper already knew. Then there was extra drama at work, not to mention annoyance, the last of which almost got him caught by his parents after getting stuck in a ding-dang hole in the floor of an old abandoned store. It really didn't help that he also lost a math assignent last week and ended up with a big fat zero. Sighing, Henry got the books he needed for homework, shut his locker, and headed to his job at Junk N' Stuff.

The thing about Henry's job is that it's awesome- but no one can know just how awesome it is. As far as his family (etc.) is concerned, Henry sweeps the floors at a small business that sells whatever the owner finds. In reality, he's actually the sidekick (the name being Kid Danger) of Captain Man, the city hero, also known as Ray to Henry, Jasper, and the other people they worked with. Henry loved his job working (and, _okay_ , goofing off) with everyone there, but it really sucked not being able to tell anyone except his coworkers. He just can't take the credit as Kid Danger in his everyday life because no one besides the people he worked with could know; Lord knows what would happen if the secret got out.

One of those people who _did_ know happened to be his (super smart) best friend Charlotte, who had cleverly figured out Henry's secret- and it didn't take all that long, either. He managed to talk Ray into giving her a job there afterwards. The same followed long after with Jasper, except he's not all that smart. Charlotte came running up to him just then.

"Hey Hen!"

Normally, he would be excited to see his bestie ("bestie" bring a word he never said loud), but lately he can't decide if he wants to be around her or not. Well, he does, but doesn't. It's strange- he's been feeling the same way he would around Bianca or Chole (his other ex), but... _stronger_. Not to mention he would get really nervous. Not that he ever thought about it; the idea of dating his bestie Charlotte was foreign to him.

Somehow he managed to pretend to look interested instead of nervy. "What's up?"

"This morning my parents told me that they were going to some dinner party with friends tomorrow, and that I could have a friend over if I wanted. You wanna come study for that science test?"

Henry wasn't sure how exactly to feel about it. When Charlotte told him this, he felt the same way he did when he got Chloe to agree to go on a date with him (and then turned into a scary _thing_ … a long story), except… he really wanted this. In spite of the part about studying, he wanted to scream "YES!" for all to hear. But he couldn't and wouldn't, so Henry had no clue what to say. He finally answered, "Ummm… Hmm… I'll have to check with Mom and Dad first…"

"Okay!" said Charlotte.

Henry felt like an idiot. But why? He has never had second thoughts about going over to Charlotte's. And usually he could just yell where he was going to one of his 'rents and be out the door in seconds flat.

Today's walk to work was as awkward as can be. Normally the trip to Junk n' Stuff was filled with chatter about numerous subjects, but that day they were silent. It didn't help that Jasper wasn't there because he had a dentist appointment that afternoon and would be coming in late. The kid could start and keep a conversation going for hours upon hours (upon hours upon hours...).

It seemed to take forever to both Henry and Charlotte to reach Junk n' Stuff. Charlotte pushed the elevator button and the two friends sped down (no joke- that thing was lightning fast) to the Man Cave. It was empty.

Ray was usually there when the teens got to the Man Cave where he lived, so Henry tensed up a bit when Ray was nowhere to be seen. That's when he noticed there was a piece of paper taped to the table. It read: _K.D., C; Went to buy more pumpkins. -C.M._ , followed by a really, really bad (okay, absolutely horrible) drawing of a pumpkin. _How long is he going to keep this up?_ Henry wondered. Ray had given up on his P.E.P. diet but was trying again; everyone else at work actually had a bet going for when he's going to give it up again, and if he'll go back to it. Henry started to look around for Schwoz, a genius inventor who lived with and worked for Captain Man, when he remembered that Schwoz was on vacation for a few days. So it was just him and Charlotte. All alone. _Should I say something_? He thought. He chickened out and sat down.

Henry sat down on the couch and watched Charlotte scroll through files on different villains on the computer. He was bored. He stared at the back of Charlotte's head. Her curly black hair would bounce around just a tad when she suddenly turned her head. Henry was considering getting up for some food from the Auto Snack machine when the alarm went off.

Henry snapped to attention and answered the phone citizens could call if they needed help. A terrified voice was wailing into the microphone.

"Captain Man! Kid Danger! Someone! Please help! I'm trapped inside of a porta potty in Swellview Park!"

 _Of all things_ , thought Henry. How did someone get trapped in a _porta potty_? Henry was tempted to say "Wrong number" and hang up, but he knew better (and besides, they would probably try calling back, anyway) and told the caller help was on the way. He reached for his gumballs while talking to Charlotte.

"Okay Char, I'll be right back."

"I assume you don't need Ray's help with this one?"

"Duh. Tell him where I am if he gets back while I'm gone."

"Got it."

Henry popped the gumball into his mouth and chewed away. Charlotte watched her friend turn from a fourteen year old kid into a heroic sidekick. Her mind wandered back to the time when Schwoz messed with Ray's gumballs (the reason why being a long and, in Charlotte's opinion, stupid story) so he would turn into a bride instead of Captain Man. _I told them not to get involved in snack politics…_ she thought as Kid Danger ran to the tube.

He pushed the button on his belt and was surrounded by glass.

"Up the tube!"


	2. Chapter 2

Charlotte stared at the spot the tube was for a minute (or two or three) before turning back to the screen. Now that Henry was gone, she was able to think a bit more clearly for the first time since finding him after school. But why had she not been able to focus even a bit until now? Even now, she still couldn't fully do so.

It wasn't the first time. As of late, talking to Henry made Charlotte feel nervous. Like, the kind of nervous feelings a really dumb kid would have before finals, or one a person who never brushes their teeth would have right before a dentist appointment. It was amazing her voice hasn't risen an octave of two while they were talking earlier. _Especially_ when she asked if he wanted to come over.

Charlotte sighed and leaned back in her chair, pondering over why asking the question had been so hard. It was only the millionth time she had invited him over, or vice versa. There was no reason it should be anything but easier than 2 + 2. Heck, usually an invitation wasn't even _necessary_ ; there wasn't even a need to knock anymore, that's how often they were at each other's houses. His parents knew her, her parents knew him.

Against her better judgement, Charlotte decided to turn her mind off for awhile. First she switched the screen over to a _Dog Judge_ rerun. Then she ordered some popcorn from the Auto Snack machine and watched. She was about halfway through the episode when she heard a muffled, high pitched feminine-like scream coming from behind her.

Rolling her eyes, Charlotte switched the screen back to her work and shoved what little popcorn remained in the bucket into her mouth just as the elevator door opened and Jasper appeared.

Jasper was always more Henry's friend than Charlotte's. They had been buds for longer than Henry and Charlotte had; they we're pretty close, too. Henry proved this back when Jasper found out Henry was Kid Danger by threatening to quit his job if Ray erased Jasper's memory. So Jasper got a job at Junk n' Stuff, much to Ray's chagrin. He just couldn't stand the kid; Jasper was a HUGE Captain Man fanboy. But Ray would rather deal with Jasper than lose the best sidekick the captain ever had.

"Hey, Charlotte! Where's Hen?" Jasper said as soon as he noticed she was alone.

"Emergency," she replied.

"What happened?" Jasper sounded really interested, as he wanted to know every move Captain Man and Kid Danger made. This drove Henry and Ray out of their minds, but Charlotte pulled him aside one day and told him to cool it down. There were a couple of threats, too. But at least it worked. Mostly, anyway.

"Believe it or not, someone is trapped in a porta potty."

"..." Jasper was silent, his face turning red. Charlotte noticed this and raised her eyebrows.

"What? Don't tell me it happened to you-"

"I was _five_!" Jasper suddenly yelled defensively, cutting her off. Charlotte rolled her eyes. "How did you-" " _Charlotte_!" Jasper used a warning tone that Charlotte's not sure she's ever heard him use before.

"Okay, okay, I'll drop it," said Charlotte, putting her hands up in surrender.

Just then, the elevator door opened. Charlotte and Jasper looked over, expecting to see Ray, but he was nowhere to be seen. Charlotte knew Ray was out getting pumpkins, but she was not expecting them to tumble out of the elevator and into the Man Cave and reveal an elevator full.

An elevator full of pumpkins. So where was Ray?

Just then, a tube appeared and Ray flew down, holding an orange drink. He was clearly in a good mood. "Hey, guys!"

"Hey, Ray," said Charlotte and Jasper in unison.

"Where's Henry?" Ray asked as he slurped the orange drink he had it his hand. A pumpkin smoothie; what else? At least there was a lid on it- unlike the last food item to go through the tubes (another long- and very messy- story).

"Little emergency," said Charlotte. "Someone got themselves trapped inside a _porta_ _potty_ , of all things. Unbelievable." She rolled her eyes again.

"Uhhhh… yeah." Ray mumbled, his face turning red.

Charlotte stared at her boss in disbelief and smacked her forehead. "Oh, _come_ on! You too?!"

"I was _five_!" Ray yelled defensively.

"Yeah!" Jasper added, defending his hero. Ray told him to shut up and start picking up pumpkins.

Charlotte groaned and stood up. "I'm going upstairs," she announced, sounding really annoyed. Charlotte knew that she hadn't done very much, but she decided to take a break anyway. She made her way to the tube and pressed the button she keat in her pocket. "Up the tube!"

At Junk n' Stuff, Gooch was standing behind the counter looking down at the cash register. "Oh, hello, Charlotte," he said when he saw her.

"Hey Gooch." Henry and Charlotte hadn't seen Gooch when they arrived earlier; they figured he was in the bathroom or something, but ultimately they forgot about it out of nervousness.

"I heard Henry leave. What's happening?"

Charlotte explained, not wanting to make it to long.

"How on Earth did someone get stuck in a _porta potty_?"

"Exactly!" Charlotte exclaimed, glad someone finally agreed with her.

"Well, thanks to that story I have to find an _un_ portable potty," he grumbled, shifting out from behind the counter. "Watch the store for me!"

"T.M.I., Gooch," she muttered.

Within seconds, Charlotte was alone again. An image of Henry floated into her mind. She seemed to be thinking about him a lot.

 _Why?_ She wondered. _It's not like I'm in love with him or anything… right?_ Charlotte sighed. It was kind of hard to judge since she's never had even a little crush on Henry or anyone else before. It did make sense- they've been best friends for quite a long time; as long as either of them can remember. But then again, why now? They _were_ fourteen now. She wondered if Henry felt the same way. The thought terrified her.

 _Okay, okay… I'm over thinking this…. Me_ and Henry _? No way… besides, he's probably still missing Bianca…. Yeah, that's it. Henry is still in love with Bianca, and I've been reading too many romance novels from the library..._

Charlotte seemed determined to convince herself that her crush on Henry was merely hormones and nothing else. True, she obviously felt different about him than before, and this feeling was new…

Charlotte decided to do one of the things she did best; research. She pulled out her phone and googled "how to tell if i have a crush on someone", except it somehow pulled up results for "how to tell if i have a sinus infection" and she had to try again.

After reading a _Wikihow_ article, (yes, she was _that_ desperate for an answer) Charlotte gave in.

Maybe I _do_ like Henry….

 **You're all probably wondering when more action gonna show up. I PROMISE it'll get here! I've already sketched out ideas! But it's going to be a few chapters before some crime fighting starts. Remember, I'm trying to make this story last AS LONG AS POSSIBLE, so that means more chapters are to come! Also, feel free to leave feedback in the comments! It'll help me so much! And yes, there's a difference between constructive criticism and just being mean. Ciao!**


	3. Chapter 3

As Kid Danger, Henry used his Hyper Motility power to quickly reach the part of Swellview park where there was a short line of 3 porta potties. He could hear a voice coming through the one on his left. "I can't believe I'm doing this," he muttered. The voice sounded strangely familiar, like I-Hear-This-Voice-Almost-Every-Day familiar, but he dismissed the thought so he could help the person, whoever he or she (or whatever) might be. Henry glanced around the park; it was empty, which was weird, but he was glad no one else was around for the sake of whoever had called and his own. Let's face it, this was embarrassing. He sighed a little and knocked on the door.

"Who's there?" the voice cried.

"It's Kid Danger," answered Henry ( _Hello? Who else would knock instead of just looking at the handle? And, also, YOU CALLED!_ ).

"Oh, thank God! Is Captain Man with you?" The voice exclaimed. _Must be a Man Fan in there_ , thought Henry.

"No." he shook his head even though the person couldn't see him.

Henry heard the person swear a little. Then there was a loud-ish bang from inside and a whimper, followed by more swearing.

Henry rolled his eyes and thought of something. "Look, have you tried opening the door?"

"Yes," said the voice like it was obvious.

Henry looked down at the red space that indicated the porta potty is in use. "Is it unlocked?"

There was a pause, and then the click of the door as it was unlocked and swung open, nearly whacking Henry in the face. Henry, glad he wasn't going back to the Man Cave with a broken nose, turned to see who had come out and had to refrain from yelling her name and giving away that he knew her.

"Thanks, Kid Danger!" Ms. Shapen, one of Henry's teachers, kind of yelled. "Can we go see Captain Man now? I mean, that was who I called for, really. He's the super hero. Is he coming?"

Henry resisted the urge to roll his eyes. At this point he was wondering if Ms. Shapen was really that stupid or if she just "locked" herself in there because she wanted Captain Man to show up. If that was the case, then she should really go teach theater. "No, ma'am, I handled this one on my own. And next time, unlock the door."

Ms. Shapen looked disappointed and heaved a dramatic sigh. "Oh… are you sure?"

"Uhhh… look!" Henry said enthusiastically while pointing in the opposite direction his teacher was facing. "I think that may or may not be him over there!"

Ms. Shapen almost squealed and turned around long enough for Henry to duck into one of the porta potties and lock the door.

It took Ms. Shapen a minute to realize that she couldn't find Captain Man and ran off to look for her celebrity crush. After a minute or two, Henry tried opening the door; it wouldn't budge. Henry almost started to panic when he realized it was just locked. Feeling stupid, Henry unlocked it and peeked out to make sure his teacher was gone and that no one was around.

When the coast was clear, Henry ducked back into the porta potty long enough to transform back into his normal self; at least by walking down to Junk n' Stuff out of uniform he wouldn't constantly be stopped by Man Fans (or regular fans) like his bratty little sister Piper; a few people have walked through the park after he ditched Ms. Shapen.

As Henry walked, he thought about Charlotte, trying to figure out why he was feeling so weird when she was around. It took him a minute to realize these were the same feelings he had around Bianca and Chole. The discovery shocked him so much he had to sit down on a nearby bench.

 _Charlotte? Me and CHARLOTTE? But why now? Why not before?_ Henry was as confused as a chamaeleon in a bag of M&Ms. _Great, now I'm hungry_.

After a minute, Henry texted Charlotte that he was on his way back. Even though he was only letting her know he was coming, he felt nervous just hitting the buttons. He would've texted Ray of Jasper, but he wasn't sure if either of them had arrived at the Man Cave yet and didn't want to embarrass himself. Frankly, he already was already embarrassed about what he said to Charlotte on the way to Junk n' Stuff.

Henry got up and had walked for a couple more minutes before coming across a small ring of trees kids liked to climb. _Why not?_ He thought.

Tree climbing was a skill Henry had acquired by constantly sneaking in and out of his window when there was an emergency or if he had to get to Junk n' Stuff late at night or early in the morning. True, that tree was easy, but he had almost no trouble climbing the ones is Swellview Park.

Once he was secured in a spot on a thick tree branch, Henry started thinking again. He thought of how when Charlotte knew he liked a girl she would encourage him to go talk to her, and groan when he miserably failed (which happened a lot). She was always supportive of whatever relationship he was in, although she definitely would've warned him against having a fake one he with Gerta, if it was going to be for longer than one night (Gerta was a robot Schwoz had built and later set free as a bird, which then pooped on Henry's bike... He was _not_ happy about that).

Henry leaned up against the tree trunk. Charlotte had always been there for him. Covering for him. Telling him he could do it. Trying to stop him from doing stupid things. He couldn't help but wonder… had she done all those things out of love? Or was she just a really good friend? Henry looked at his watch and realized how long he had been sitting there and jumped down so he could get back to Junk n' Stuff. Occasionally, when no one was looking or around, he used his Hyper Motility power to jump forward a few feet so he'd get back faster. He started to speed walk, hoping Ray wasn't back yet so he wouldn't get chewed out for taking so long.

As Henry went on, he began to realize that if he really did have a crush on Charlotte, then he would have to figure out if she liked him back. _Hmmm… she hadn't been acting weird, but neither have I since I was hiding it, although I probably wasn't doing a very good job. Maybe she's hiding feelings too! I hope so._

As Henry had that thought, it hit him like a brick.

 _Maybe I_ do _like Charlotte._

 **Yay! Chapter 3! Chapter 4 will be here soon! Also I just updated the posted chapters and fixed a couple things so that's good :-).**


	4. Chapter 4

**Bonjour** **! I'm posting Chapter 4 a day early since I won't have time tomorrow, so here ya go! I hope you like it, enjoy!**

Charlotte stared at the screen, unable to focus. Not because on said screen was a really unflattering picture of Jeff, the stupidest villain (if he's even that) EVER, or because Jasper was prattling on and on (and on and on and on) about his dentist appointment, or even because Ray had his headphones on and was singing, er, _screeching_ , to some really old (and really bad) songs. No, Charlotte couldn't focus because she had finally accepted that she had a crush on Henry.

One thing was for sure; if this was how having a crush on someone felt, Charlotte was not going to get anything done. Suddenly it hit her like a truck; what if Henry didn't like her back? Would she become depressed or something? Did she want him to like her back? Well, of course- she liked (loved?) him, so it only made sense. Charlotte felt her phone buzz in her pocket and pulled it out; a text from… _Henry_?!

 _Oh_ CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP _!_ she thought.

Charlotte's palms started to sweat as she unlocked her phone and read the text:

 _On the way back_

That was it. So he was coming. That didn't give Charlotte much time before they'd be in the same room together again.

Charlotte debated over whether or not to respond. Henry didn't mention if everything was okay with whoever it was that called, but if things were that bad, he would've called up Captain Man. So everything must be fine. Charlotte decided to just send a simple _k_ and glanced over her shoulder. Jasper was still prattling, and Ray was still screeching. She sighed and pulled out her wireless headphones.

After an incident involving Dr. Minyak musically brain warping Charlotte's mind to try and get to get rid of Captain Man and Kid Danger, Charlotte avoided music like the plague. Eventually, though, with Henry's encouragement, she _slooowly_ started listening again. At this point in time she's gotten over it and sometimes puts in her headphones just to tune out the world; which is exactly what she did just then.

Charlotte's music drowned out Jasper and Ray (more or less), so she started working again, tapping and typing keys to the rhythm of whatever song was playing.

Evidently, she eventually became more absorbed in her work than usual, because when Ray tapped her on the shoulder a bit later, she gasped and almost screamed, jumping a mile or two the air, causing Ray to laugh hysterically.

"Not funny, Ray!" Charlotte snapped, completely embarrassed. This just made him laugh harder. At least Jasper appeared to have gone back upstairs; one less person to witness her being humiliated.

It took a full four minutes for Ray to finally calm down and cure the case of the hiccups he got after laughing so hard. He grinned and wiped a tear. "Charlotte, can you go into storage and bring me the wagon that should be in there? I want it out so I can get my pumpkins around easier." Ray just couldn't keep a straight face and started snorting again. Charlotte rolled her eyes and walked through the secret door and into the storage room.

The storage room held all sorts of cool stuff, like the time machine that was recovered from the Time Jerker. Or the less-cool TV with the tape player where Ray showed Henry and Charlotte why he didn't want them using the Trans-molecular Densitizer (also known as just the Densitizer) on Henry. Then the Densitizer itself. Charlotte started at it. That machine made Ray indestructible, then made Henry an indestructible fire-laugher. The whole fiasco made Charlotte wish that it really had been destroyed like Ray had said it was. But there it was.

Charlotte shook her head and went to the corner of the room to get the wagon. It was the same wagon Charlotte had sat in while refusing to consider the fact that there might have been a way to make Henry indestructible without side effects. Henry had simply rolled his eyes and wheeled her out of the storage room.

As she dragged it towards the door, she suddenly stopped and looked at it. A grin crossed her face.

Charlotte had an idea.

…

While Ray was laughing his everything off at Charlotte, who had just disappeared into the storage room, Henry had finally jogged onto the street Junk n' Stuff was on. He then slowed down to a walking pace to catch his breath.

Once he had accepted that he had a crush on his bestie, Henry decided that he needed to figure out if Charlotte liked him back or not. The thought scared him out of his wits as he pushed open the door to the store.

The fire breathing dragon welcomed him with a burst of fire as it always did when the door opened. Henry mentally shuddered as he thought of when fire would come out of _his_ mouth. Well, at least that problem was solved. Who _knew_ if he'd ever find out if Charlotte liked him as more than a friend or not?

Henry looked over at the counter where Jasper was sitting. Henry began to wonder if Gooch was even at work today or what (Gooch had actually gone excited the elevator to go talk to Ray about something right after Charlotte went behind the secret door- only neither Henry nod Charlotte knew that).

Jasper waved at Henry, who braced himself for the million questions Jasper would undoubtedly have. But none came. Henry was confused until he realized that there was a customer looking at something across the store. _Oh._ Henry smiled as he disappeared into the back room. It was good to know Jasper wasn't going to blow his cover.

As Henry stepped into the elevator, his smiled faded and his heart rate tripled. Not because of the speed the elevator went (at this point he and Charlotte were beyond used to it), but because he knew he'd be seeing Charlotte soon. Henry was both nervous and excited at the same time, unsure which emotion was stronger.

As the elevator slammed to a stop, Henry's hands started to sweat. _Crap!_ He quickly wiped them on his pants and looked into the Man Cave.

The first place Henry's eyes went was the spot Charlotte had been sitting when he saw her last. But the chair was empty. Henry relaxed a little (but we was also disappointed) and wiped his hands on his pants one more time before entering the Man Cave.

Henry spotted Ray and Gooch coming out of the area where the Ray's room (among others) was through the sprocket door. Ray saw his sidekick and waved.

"Hey, Hen! How'd it go?"

 _How'd what go?_ Henry thought. Then he remembered the porta potty incident. "Oh, fine. Turns out it was Ms. Shapen. Although I can't figure out if she's stupid enough to forget to unlock a door or if she was hoping you'd come rescue her."

Ray visibly shudders and sits down on the couch. Gooch gave Henry a funny look. "Why are your pants all wet?" he asked, pointing.

Henry looked down and almost sweared. The sides of his jeans were almost soaked through; hadn't realized just how sweaty his hands had gotten. His face turned red as he struggled to think of a lie.

Ray bought him an extra minute by laughing and yelling, "Let me guess! She got so scared she peed on you!" Which didn't even make sense, because that would even have been possible since there wasn't any more reason to be scared unless the circumstances were different... Which is something Charlotte would say. Ray laughed his way over to the couch and sat down on ththe edge.

Henry finally thought of something. "Oh, uh, a bunch of little kids were having a water gun fight in the park and decided it would, um, be fun to spray me."

"But," said Gooch. "Wouldn't they be dry by now?"

 _Craaaap!_ "Uh, er no they were pretty soaked. Plus the clouds rolled in so the sun couldn't dry them." That last part, at least, was true. It _was_ actually fairly cloudy today.

Gooch nodded and down next to Ray, who started laughing about everything the day had brought again. _Phew!_ Henry thought. No way he could live it down if someone- _especially_ Ray- found out about his crush on Charlotte.

Henry gave Ray a minute to calm down down a little and ordered a giant water jug (filled, obviously) from the Auto Snack machine; after all that time running he was parched.

Right as he opened it, Charlotte pressed the button to open the secret door from the other side. Henry looked up and thought he saw her for just a second, and his heart rate sped up again. And the sweaty hands came back, making holding the water jug difficult.

But what no one was expecting was for Charlotte to be riding the wagon (in fact, Henry didn't even know she had gone back to get said wagon, or that she was even back there) through the door straight towards where Henry was standing.

Once they saw each other, they both almost panicked and Charlotte lost what little control she had of the skateboard- er, wagon.

Three things happened at once; Charlotte screamed, Henry screamed, and Charlotte flew out of the wagon into the air, landing right on top of Henry.


	5. Chapter 5

Ray burst out laughing again, and both the teens' faces turned red. _Smooth,_ thought Charlotte. It didn't help that the impact knocked the water jug out of Henry's hand. The giant water jug that was open. And full. An _entire gallon._ Both teens were soaked in places, but Charlotte got the worst of it since she landed on top of Henry. _LANDED ON TOP OF HENRY!_

Charlotte scrambled to get off of him, her face redder than ever. Normally it wouldn't even show very much because of her dark skin, but it was flaming up more than ever before.

Ray looked at them and started laughing even HARDER! "You look like you wet your pants!" He rolled off the couch and onto the floor with a _bang_ and spat out "I'm… okay-AH HAHA HA HA!" Charlotte could feel that her face was on FIRE. Henry looked up at her, his eyes screaming _What the…!_

Feeling more embarrassed by the minute, Charlotte jumped onto the platform and ran up the stairs, disappearing into one of the spare bathrooms behind the sprocket door. She locked the bathroom door behind her and clutched the sink, trying to keep from falling.

Finally free, Henry sat up, rubbing the back of his head where it had smacked onto the floor, wishing he were still indestructible. Charlotte had smacked him in the head with a giant vase just for fun after it happened. That's what Henry's head felt like right now, except the pain hadn't disappeared after a couple of seconds.

Ray finally stopped laughing long enough to help Henry up. "What… just... _happened?_ " Henry asked, rubbing the back of his head, feeling kind of dizzy. Ray noticed him limp a little- the impact of the wagon caused Henry's ankle to twist a little. Now, Ray was a very jokey man and everything, but seeing his sidekick hurt (even if they weren't on a mission), that caused Ray to turn serious. Ray put an arm over Henry's shoulder and guided him to the couch, explaining as they slowly walked. "I asked Charlotte to get this old wagon that was back in storage- you know, for pumpkins-, but I hadn't expected her to _ride in_ on it." Once Henry was sitting on the couch, Ray asked for a bucket of ice and two plastic bags from the Autosnack Machine and divided it into said two bags- one to put on Henry's ankle and one for his head where it had smacked the floor. Gooch went behind the sprocket door to find a pillow for Henry.

Ray had just stuck the first bag of ice on Henry's ankle when he went, "Ray. Ray! I'm fine! It's just a little twist! Besides, I get hurt at work all the time!" It was true. Henry had actually once almost gotten killed in an explosion, scaring Ray to death. Ray didn't know what he'd do without his sidekick by his side… kick.

Ray realized what he was doing. "Sorry, Kid, he said sitting down. "It's just… you know, with you being able to get hurt and all that…" even Ray knew he sometimes babied his sidekick when he got hurt. Ray loved Henry like a son, or even a brother; the last thing he wanted was for his beloved partner in stopping crime to get hurt.

Henry nodded in understanding and decided to just accept the ice. After all, his head was killing him.

...

Charlotte continued to clutch the bathroom sink. After a minute or two she looked up at her reflection. _What was I_ thinking? She thought, biting her lip to keep from crying and screaming at the same time. Suddenly she heard footsteps and froze. She panicked and thought it was Henry or Ray looking for her, but it was actually Gooch; she just didn't know that. He speed walked to a spare guest room, grabbed a pillow for Henry, and returned to main section of the Man Cave. Once he was gone, Charlotte realized she had been holding her breath and sighed. Then she tried to access where she was wet.

The first spot of water she found was where exactly she was afraid it would be; the very front of her pants. Charlotte groaned and inched them off to hang over the shower rod. Her undies, at least, were dry. There were a few soaked spots on her pants and shirt, and her hair had taken in some water, but other then that she was fine. Charlotte twisted her pants and shirt to soak out most of the water until all that remained were some damp spots. She then hung them over the shower rod to dry a bit more while splashing water in her face to cool down. She then dried her face and hair with a towel.

After about ten minutes of sitting on the closed toilet seat and staring off into space, Charlotte put her clothes back on and stared at the door. She had a jacket in her backpack she could use to cover the front stain of her pants. Slowly, she unlocked and opened the bathroom door to look for nearby people.

Seeing no one, Charlotte quietly crept back to the main section of the Man Cave. As quietly as she could, anyway, considering she had to open up the giant sprocket door to get out.

The first thing she saw was her best friend's foot propped up on a thick pillow with an ice pack. The second thing she saw was a second ice pack on his head.

"Oh my God!" cried Charlotte, rushing to the couch where Ray and Gooch were sitting next to the injured boy. "Henry-are-you-okay?!" Charlotte was speaking so fast he almost didn't understand the question. _Oh,_ WHY _did I have to skate out on that stupid wagon?!"_

"I'm fine, Char. I just-"

"Oh, I'm so sorry! How bad is it?! Will you be okay?! I-is everything alright? Do we need to lie to your parents?!"

"Charlotte!" Henry's voice raised a bit, then went back down. "I'm fine. I had been standing on it wrong when we crashed, anyway." A lie, but he was willing to do it for Charlotte's sake. He could always tell when something was bugging her and knew she felt guilty about hurting him. "Besides, it's not your fault. You hadn't even known I was here!"

Ray and Gooch nodded in agreement. In her panic, Charlotte hadn't even noticed they were there and felt hot again. _Crud!_ It didn't help that, despite her friend's assurances, Charlotte still felt really bad. Henry sensed this and added, "It would've happened sooner or later, anyway. But I'll be okay in a little bit. I bet I won't even have to lie to my parents."

Charlotte shrugged and looked at the wagon, which was still there.

Henry had an idea. "Hey, you know what, let's get Schwoz's doctor scanner thing and just, you know, double check."

Ray and Gooch nodded in agreement again. "Good idea, Kid. I'll call up Schwoz and ask where it is." Ray started to his room to grab his phone and started dialing. Gooch said he needed to go back upstairs, leaving Henry and Charlotte alone. _Uh-oh,_ they thought in unison.

There was a minute of awkward silence before Charlotte went and sat down in front of the monitors. While waiting for a file to load, she looked over at the screen that showed Junk n' Stuff. It was empty of people except for Gooch and Jasper, who were talking.

"'Wonder if he's telling 'em what just happened."

Charlotte jumped a mile or two into the air for the second time in less than an hour or two. Henry was standing right behind her. "Don't sneak up on me like that!" she snapped, shivering a little. Henry grinned. "Sorry."

As Charlotte was looking away from the screen, Henry looking down at her, the front door to the store opened.

 **Ooh, cliffhanger! Who do you guys think it is? Until next week, ciao!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Ciao! Chapter 6 is here! Man, I can't believe I'm come so far- and it's not even close to being done yet! Thanks so much all of you who've been reading! Ciao!**

The person entering Junk n' Stuff ended up being no other than Henry's mother. Jasper and Gooch looked up upon hearing the bell ring. "Oh, hey Mrs. Hart!" said Jasper cheerfully. Gooch said a polite hello and went to sort a few new items on the other side of the store from where Henry's mom was standing- he's never been very social, even if he _is_ better than he was before Henry and Charlotte showed up.

"Hi Jasper. Where's Henry? I need him home," said Mrs. Hart.

Jasper immediately grew curious but (somehow) refrained from asking why she needed her son all of a sudden. "Yeah, he's in the back." Jasper always said "in the back" instead of "downstairs" to keep people from asking what "downstairs" was (cause, well you know, Man Cave. Plus, Jasper worked really hard to keep the secret; he didn't need Henry to lose his job because of him, like he almost did once), and it works because they don't know just how small the back room is. "I can go get him for you," he offered.

"Sure, that'd be great." Jasper nodded and hurried to the back room and into the elevator.

After a stomach-twisting (but brief) ride down, the elevator door opened and Jasper called Henry's name. He and Charlotte turned around. "Hey Jasp. What's up?"

"Your mom's here. She wants you upstairs."

"She is?" Henry looked back at the Junk n' Stuff monitor. Sure enough, his mother was examining the fire-breathing dinosaur by the front door. "Why does she want me?"

Jasper shrugged. "Dunno. She just said "'I need him home'".

Henry walked toward his backpack (his ankle felt better; it didn't hurt anymore, just felt a little funny. His headache, on the other hand, was as bad as ever, but he ignored it). "Is it urgent?" he asked as he bent over to pick his backpack up.

"Probably not," said Charlotte. "If it were urgent enough for her to pick you up, she probably would've called first. Plus, she doesn't look worried or upset." Charlotte pointed to the monitor; she was right about Mrs. Hart not looking worried or anything. In fact, she actually looked… the only word Henry could come up with was _hopeful_. Henry said a quick "Yeah" in response to what his bestie said and went back to the elevator, Jasper on his heals. "See ya later, Char."

"Bye, Henry. Later, Jasp."

The elevator then took both boys away.

…...

Mrs. Hart heard footsteps approaching and saw Jasper lead Henry into the store. "Thanks, Jasper." she said. "No prob, Mrs. H. Bye, Hen."

"Bye, Jasp." Henry waved at his friend and followed Mrs. Hart out the door.

"So what's going on?" Henry asked as he and his mom walked to the car. "Get in. I'll explain on the way." Henry obeyed. As soon as Mrs. Hart was driving, she was talking.

"Remember that J.A.M. class Piper tried taking?" she asked. He remembered, all right- especially the part about losing a bet about it with Ray, but his mom didn't know about that. Henry nodded with a "yeah?"

"Well, we- your father and I- think we might've found a solution to Piper's temper problem." Henry raised his eyebrows as his mother added, "For real this time."

Mrs. Hart made a turn and continued. "It's a weeklong clinic a couple towns over that has incredibly promising results from past patients-" _Like any of them were as bad as Piper_ , thought Henry- "and we want to take Piper. Both of us." Henry's blood ran cold as he tried to keep from looking worried. Would he go with them and leave town? For a whole _week_?! He couldn't be away from Swellview for a week! The city needed him!

"But," his mom added. "Even though your father and I are sure we could trust you to take care of yourself without us-" _You have no idea_ "-we decided a week was a bit long. So we called Charlotte's mother and she said you could stay with them! Plus, that way you won't miss any school."

Huh. A week of living with Charlotte. _Oh,_ God _!_ But at least he'll still be in town. Henry's eyebrows went back down, but he was still tense. _Way_ tense.

"Okay then… so why couldn't you just tell me later?" asked Henry as they pulled into the garage.

"Because it starts tomorrow." Henry raised his eyebrows again at his mother agin.

Mrs. Hart unbuckled her seatbelt and opened her door. "I know it's sudden, but if there's a good chance it'll fix Piper's temper problem, it's worth a try."

"I agree." Boy, did he ever. They were so close last time (thanks, Ray).

"Oh, and I asked Charlotte's mom to let her know. Go pack your things."

…..…..…..…..…..….

While Henry sent Jasper a quick text briefly explaining what his mom had told him, Charlotte sat at her desk in the Man Cave and sorted through Dr. Minyak's file, wondering what had happened to make Henry's mom come pick him up. Just then, Ray walked back in. He was dragging a cart full of things to connect the scanner (which was in his hand) to so he could examine Henry. It took Ray no more than quarter of a minute to notice his sidekick was gone. "Hey, Hen! I got the- where's the kid?" Ray looked at Charlotte questioningly.

"His mom picked him up. Said she needed him home."

"Why?"

"I don't kn-"

As soon as the word _don't_ crossed Charlotte's lips, her phone rang.

Charlotte pulled it out of her pocket and found her mom was calling her. Before answering it, she rushed into the elevator to keep her mom from seeing the Man Cave; it wasn't her first day on the job (even if it were, she would know better, anyway). Ray occupied himself with thinking about how hot he thought Mrs. Hart was while Charlotte was gone.

"Hey, Mom. What's up?

"Hi, honey." Mrs. Page didn't waste any time and cut right to the chase. "Mr. and Mrs. Hart need to leave town with Piper, so I told them they could drop off Henry here for a week."

Charlotte couldn't hide the look of surprise on her face that was mixed with nervousness. Fortunately, her mom had looked away at something long enough for Charlotte to recover. "Oh, alrighty then… When?" she asked.

"Tomorrow night." _Ohhh_ , thought Charlotte. So Mrs. Hart must've picked Henry up to go pack. Still, Charlotte wished there had been a bit more notice. But at least she knew why Henry went home. "Why are his parents leaving?"

"His mom said something about a clinic for Piper. To try and fix her little anger problem." "Little" isn't a word used to describe Piper's temper problem, but Charlotte nodded anyway. "Okay, thanks Mom, gotta go, love you."

"Love you too, sweetie." Charlotte hung up and left the elevator, jamming her phone back into her pocket.

As soon as he saw his employee, Ray raised his eyebrows in question and Charlotte repeated what her mom said, except she didn't call Piper's temper problem "little".

"So," said Ray when Charlotte finally stopped talking. "Wanna make another bet?"

"No freaking way," said Charlotte immediately, remembering the last bet she and Henry made with Ray. Ray gave her a quick "Chicken!" look and shoved the gestured toward the elevator with the scanner. "So was he walking okay?"

"Looked like it. I'll ask just in case." Charlotte pulled out her phone and texted Henry, feeling a little more nervous as she typed.

 _Charlotte: How's your ankle & head?_

Charlotte sat down in front of the monitors to wait for a response. It took less than a minute.

 _Henry: Ankles all better head still hurts a little._

Henry knew he was sugarcoating it way more than he should've, but he didn't want Charlotte to worry. His limp was almost gone (he had hidden it while with his mom, so she didn't notice), but his head was still pounding. He sent a second text

 _Henry: So did ur mom tell u yet_

 _Charlotte: Yes, she just called._

 _Henry: U still keep that dish of gummy bears by ur closet door?_

Charlotte thought of the last time Henry asked that question, which was shortly before Jasper's crazy girlfriend tried to kill her over a stupid misunderstanding. Good to know Henry won't try to do that.

 _Charlotte: Yes._

Henry responded with a smiley face.

 _Henry: Ok I gotta get packing_

 _Charlotte: See you tomorrow._

 _Henry: Love ya_

Charlotte's heart leaped! Did he really just-

 _Henry: I meant see ya. Stupid autocorrect_

There was an eye-roll emoji after the word _autocorrect_.

 _DANG IT!_ Charlotte was crushed but had to hide her face from Ray.

"He's fine" was all Charlotte said before picking up her backpack. It was about time to go, anyway.

"Later, kid."

"Later."

 **Annnnnnnnnnnnnd cut! That's a wrap for Chapter 6! Until next week, ciao!**


	7. Chapter 7

Henry smushed a pillow in his face, trying not to scream over the text he sent Charlotte. _Why,_ _why,_ _WHY would I_ _just_ _blame_ _it_ _on_ _autocorrect_?! Henry mentally screamed this over and over again.

Yeah. That's right. Henry had stared at the phone for a second before taking a risk and sending that text. But then he blew it by saying autocorrect had been a screw up. No, I'M the screw up! Those two little words- Love ya- could have made something happen. What that something was, of course, depended on if Charlotte liked- no, loved- him back or not. Chances are, he just ruined any chance of a relationship with her. Or does she not love him back and he just dodged a bullet?

Henry could only hope he hadn't hurt her feelings in any way. Not only did he have to face her in school tomorrow, but he was going to be living with her. For an. Entire. WEEK!

 _Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!_

Henry somehow managed to keep from screaming his head off (it's not the first time he's ever had to be quiet about his feelings at home- obviously he couldn't, for instance, whine to his family about how hard a mission was; Mom/Dad/Piper, I totally could've kicked his butt! Oh, whose? The bad guy Captain Man and I were fighting. Oh yeah, I'm Kid Danger, by the way)and collapsed on the bed. Why?! He kept asking himself. WHY?!

Henry finally groaned out loud a little and started throwing things into a duffle bag he found buried in his closet. Shirts, pants- anything he would need until his parents returned. As an afterthought, he put his backup gumballs into his backpack so he'd have them with him. Just in case. Good thing Charlotte knew, or it would be waaaaaaaaaaaay too much work to hide them from everybody while he was staying with the Pages.

...

Night had fallen. Charlotte had finished her homework and cleaned her room. Not that it had been messy; she just vacuumed and that stuff. Charlotte spent the rest of her free time watching and reading the funniest things she should find, but she was still upset Henry's text had been an accident. If only he had sent it on purpose…

Charlotte sighed and collapsed on the bed. Neither of them knew it, but both Henry and Charlotte were on their beds in their rooms, in the exact same position, thinking about the exact same thing (except, of course, only one of them knew the truth about the text).

And they stayed there for over an hour, silently pondering over what had just happened

 _Why did I do that?!_

 _Why did I ever think he might have really liked me like that?!_

 _Why was I so stupid?!_

 _Why was autocorrect so stupid?!_

 _Should I tell her the truth?!_

 _Should I ask him about it?!_

 _Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!_

 _Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!_

Unaware of what the other was up to, Henry and Charlotte fell asleep at the exact same time, in the exact same position.

...

 _Charlotte was taking notes in history class, preparing for an upcoming test. Suddenly, she noticed how quiet it was and looked around. The lights were off, and the classroom was empty._

 _Charlotte gasped and dropped her pencil, watching it roll underneath another desk. Where did everyone go? Just a few seconds ago she could hear the whispers of her peers and the giggles someone made at some lame joke the teacher, who was also gone, hadn't heard; and the light switch was still in the_ ON _position._

 _That's when she heard a growl coming from behind her. The growl went from so low Charlotte almost didn't hear it to so loud her ears hurt. Charlotte whipped around and would've screamed if her throat hadn't suddenly gone stuck and dry._

 _The creature-whatever it was, some sort of mutant monster, probably- behind her was nothing like anything Charlotte had ever seen. It had devil horns the size of her head, a blood red face with fangs that looked more like Katniss's arrows from_ The Hunger Games _(which Charlotte had been re-reading over the past few days, and she had also watched the movie again last week), and it's body was hidden under a huge, flowing robe of fire. Red, orange, yellow and even blue flames leapt around, setting nearby desks and chairs on fire and almost burning Charlotte, who was paralyzed with fear._

 _Charlotte knew she had three options; fight (as if), flight (the door was closed, but locked from the outside? Not likely, but neither was the situation she was in), or freeze (and hope the thingdoesn't see her somehow)._

 _Suddenly, the monster grabbed her and held her in the air. Burns ran up her skin where the monsters had grabbed her, it's hands wearing fingerless gloves of fire that showed off it's foot-long claws. Charlotte was screaming her head off, wailing for help, positive that this was the moment she would reach the end of her life. Burns ran up her skin where the monsters had grabbed her; the adrenaline coursing through her body was the only thing keeping her from feeling the horrid pain._

 _Charlotte's various noises were cut off by the sound of glass shattering. Someone flew into the room, landing on his feet with a thump._

 _"Charlotte!"_

 _"Kid Danger!" Yes, it was Henry! He came the rescue her! Charlotte struggled to move, to escape its grasp, but the beast simply held her in one of its giant hands while the other attacked her best friend._

 _Kid Danger dodged the first few swipes of the creature before pulling something long and sharp out of his boot; a knife. Charlotte was a bit confused; knives weren't exactly a Kid Danger kind of weapon. Usually it was blasters and lasers; Captain Man (wait. Where the heck is Ray?!) and Kid Danger would sometimes have to hurt villains, give them a dose of pain, but something that goes for the kill? That must mean who/whatever this creature must be more dangerous than she originally thought. But Charlotte didn't really care right then; she was too busy being afraid for her safety and that of Henry's._ Er, Kid Danger's.

 _Anyway, Kid Danger swung his knife at the beast, chopping of small pieces of burning flesh. At this point in time, just about every chair, every desk, every poster, and everything else (including Charlotte's runaway pencil and her notes) was either covered in flames or having fire spread over them. The fire alarm suddenly went off, screaming in their ears. Charlotte wiggled around, hoping at the very least it would distract the creature-beast thing._

 _But then, without warning, the beast suddenly launched Charlotte at Kid Danger, who was standing right by the same window he had come through. Both teens tumbled out, getting cut and scraped by what little glass had remained in the window pane._

 _Charlotte screeched and grabbed the windowsill with both of her slightly bloody hands. Henry grabbed her ankles and and frantically looked for something to hold on to besides Charlotte, who wouldn't be able to hold on to the ledge for much longer. Henry looked down at the ground below them. He turned toward his best friend and said, in a tone more serious than every other time she's every heard him talk, "Charlotte, whatever you do,_ do not look down _."_

 _Of course, she looked down. They had to be at least ten or even twenty stories up, and solid concrete was the only thing they could see below them. Falling meant death, but climbing back in wasn't an option- not only did Charlotte barely have the strength to hold on the the ledge that was heating up really fast and slippery with blood like her hands and face, but the monster had approached them and was standing right beside the broken window._

 _Suddenly, the fire-beast-thing leapt out the window, unharmed by the shards of glass that still remained. It spanned wings Charlotte nor Henry had known it had, and began to fly around in a circle before stopping right next to where Kid Danger was holding on to his bestie. And the creature attacked._

 _Not at Henry- at Charlotte. Her legs, to be exact. His claws sliced them right in half and sent Henry flying down. Blood quickly ran out of her, and, without thinking, she let go of the ledge right as Henry was about to smack into the ground._

Charlotte gasped as she got that feeling of falling onto the bed, shocked to find she was in her own room. Throwing off the covers, she quickly checked herself for burns and cuts. By the time she confirmed that both her legs were still in one piece, Charlotte realized it had been just a nightmare and relaxed a little. There was no monster, Henry hadn't gotten killed, and the fire alarm wasn't going off- it was her wake-up-for-school alarm.

Shaking, Charlotte silenced the alarm she had set on her phone the night before. Sure enough, it was time to get ready for school.

Charlotte sighed a little. It wasn't actually the first time she had a nightmare about Henry; ever since she figured out his secret, Charlotte tended to have bad dreams about him being hurt- or worse. Henry had actually confided in to her once that he sometimes dreamt about his missions, except sometimes they were a lot scarier than they had been in real life. Sometimes, if he was out late, he would be too tired to dream. "My favorite kind of dream," he said once, "is getting to each a bunch of bacon. Because it's not real but I still get to eat it- can I get that... _feeling_ , ya know? If that make sense." She understood exactly what he had been saying.

"But I'm okay with having none at all." Charlotte shuddered upon remembering the little incident with Henry getting shot with a dream beam. She shook her head and hopped into the shower, hoping to wash away all the horrible memories- needless to say, it didn't really work.

 **Is it just me, or is this the longest chapter I've written so far? (Checking Doc Manager...) Yep, longest chapter so far. Actually, I was up to almost 2,000 words with this one so I cut the last couple hundred and was able to make an extra chapter :). Then I added some things...**

 **Anyway, what'd y'all think about the text fiasco? Drama!**

 **Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


	8. Chapter 8

_The crime alert blaring in their ears, Henry and Ray rushed to the monitors. Ray answered the phone right before Henry's hand reached the button. "What's up, Gooch?"_

" _Dr. Minyak has just set the Swellview Bank on fire, the caller said that no one was able to reach the fire department,_ and _we just received word that there's a rabid lion loose in Swellview Park."_

 _Henry groaned. He_ hated _it when their were two emergencies at once- there was sometimes a big argument about who went where._

" _Why couldn't the fire department be reached?" Henry asked._

" _I don't know, but hurry." Gooch hung up._

" _C'mon, Kid." Ray pulled out his gumball tube and transformed; Henry did the same, and the two rushed to the tubes._

" _Call it."_

" _Up the tubes!"_

…

" _I'll take the rabid lion, since the last thing we need is to find a way to explain to your parents how you got rabies at Junk n' Stuff. Plus, your suit will protect most of you from burns." Henry- well, Kid Danger- nodded to show he was following, glad they weren't fighting about who was going where. The super hero continued. "The Swellview Bank is on the way there, so I'll drop you off; I want you to focus on getting people out, but keep an eye out for Dr. Minyak or hot Nurse Cohort; I'll be there is soon as I can. Got it?"_

" _Got it." The sidekick didn't bother thinking about his bosses comment about the mad doctor's assistant. Captain Man turned the Man Van onto the only open street that Kid Danger could take to get to the Swellview Bank, since roads were getting closed off so vehicles wouldn't get in the way._

 _Kid Danger unbuckled his seatbelt and jumped out of the Man Van before his boss even had a chance to come to a full stop._

 _Using his Hyper Motility, Kid Danger sped towards the bank and started evacuating civilians into nearby streets, telling them to try calling the fire department again. After a few minutes, he was certain he had everyone out; families who had gone together were in clumps, quadruple-checking that they had everyone. Suddenly, a frantic woman tapped him on the shoulder, followed by another woman a small boy. The boy was silently crying in her arms, terrified._

" _Yes, ma'am?" Kid Danger asked the first woman politely. Her name tag read_ Sam _._

" _Kid Danger, I'm sorry to bother you, but I couldn't help but notice the girl I helped find the restroom right before the fire began isn't out here."_

 _Kid Danger nodded._ So much for getting everyone out _, he thought, careful not to say it out loud. "Can you give me a description?"_

" _Yes- she was, um, African American, and her hair was short and curly."_

 _Kid Danger's blood ran cold. "Was she short?" He didn't even think about the possibility of having to explain how he knew that._

" _Yes, I think so." The small boy-their son, maybe?- started to sniffle, and the second woman cradled him, whispering calming words._

 _Kid Danger had a bad feeling he knew who the person Sam had helped was and almost started swearing. He controlled the urge and asked Sam where the bathrooms were so he could find her. She gave him directions, and he said a quick "Thank you, ma'am," and ran inside without waiting for a response._

 _Using his Hyper Motility, Kid Danger followed the woman's instructions and found the restrooms, trying to ignore the screaming smoke detectors that we're going off everywhere. He didn't bother feeling awkward about going into the girl's room and pushed open the door, smoke briefly blocking his vision and making him cough._

 _The second-to-last stall door-right next to the big one- was the only one closed. Kid Danger peeked under and was horrified to find that the girl lying on the floor inside that Sam had described was, in fact, who he was afraid it might have been._

" _Charlotte!" Without hesitation, Kid Danger slid under the stall door and put his ear to her chest,_ _hoping_ _praying he'd find a heartbeat. Instead, there was silence._

 _Kid Danger almost wet (okay, pooped) his pants (ironic, considering he was in a bathroom stall) before he gave in and started using all sorts of colorful language as he unlocked the door and scooped Charlotte up into his arms, opening the stall door and the main bathroom door with his shoulder. As he did so, he heard- just for a beside moment- a voice, slightly rusty from all the smoke._

"Maniac…" _Kid Danger spat out the word like it tasted bad (although that might have been bile). He shook his head, knowing his main priority right then was getting his best friend out of the burning building alive- assuming, of course, she wasn't actually dead yet. Kid Danger ran as fast as he could, considering he was carrying Charlotte bridal style (admittedly, he had daydreamed about doing that a few times, but without the part about Charlotte possibly/probably not breathing. Coincidentally enough, though, the shirt Charlotte was wearing happened to be white), not to mention he was so panicked he forgot about his Hyper Motility and didn't use it._

 _By the time he made it outside, their were firetrucks and ambulances everywhere, sirens blaring. An EMS attendant who was talking to the same woman who had approached him earlier-_ What was her name again? Simone? Maybe _-saw him with Charlotte and rushed over, the attendant on her heals._

 _Kid Danger surrendered her to the doctors, hoping- no,_ praying _\- that they could help her just as Captain Man showed up. It didn't take him long to notice who his sidekick had just handed over_

" _Kid, wha- was that-"_

" _Captain Man! C'mon!" Kid Danger intended to catch Dr. Maniac (you guessed it-_ _still being disrespectful) and get rid of him once and for all. Nurse Cohort, too, is sh_ _e had anything to do with this. Kid Danger sprinted in the direction he could see the Man Van in, his boss on his heels, calling after him. As he passed the open doors to the Swellview Bank where firefighters were going in, Kid Danger could hear the smoke detectors screaming…_

Only the smoke detectors actually turned out to be his Wiz Watch. Ray was calling him.

Henry bolted up with a cry and looked around for a second before realizing it was all just a dream. Relieved out of his mind, he answered his watch and Ray appeared.

"Good morning to you! Good morning to you! Welcome to Tuesday, your face looks like poooooo!"  
"Morning, Ray…"  
Most of Ray's wake-up calls were Ray being energetically goofy, and Henry being grumpy and tired. Today was no exception, except Henry was also tense and relieved that everything he just experienced had just been a nightmare.

"Charlotte told me why you left last night. Still comin' to work this week, right?"  
"Yeah," Henry said through a yawn.  
"Alright, just double checkin'. See ya!"  
After Ray hung up, Henry took a quick shower in attempt to shake off the nightmare, but it still hung out in the back of his mind. It took him about a minute after he started downstairs to realize that the house was quiet. Too quiet. Henry noticed that there was a note on the kitchen counter. Seeing as how he was Kid Danger, the sidekick had started to panic before reading it, thinking someone had found out his secret and left a ransom note, but then he read it a couple of times and recognized his dad's handwriting;  
 _Good morning, sleepyhead! We're on the way to the clinic and left you some leftovers to heat up in the fridge. We picked up your bag and will drop it off at Charlotte's as we drive by. Just stick any last minute items in your backpack. Love you!  
-Dad, Mom and Piper (even if she won't admit it)._  
Henry turned on the small TV that was in the kitchen and proceeded to heat up his breakfast, glad that everything fearful event had been nothing but his brain tricking him.

By the time he arrived at school, Charlotte was already at her locker. Henry visibly shuddered, unable to see anything but her dead, lifeless body for a second. _Not real_ , he reminded himself. _Not real_.  
At this point in time, both Henry and Charlotte had recovered a bit from the nightmares they both had of losing their friend (it had also dawned on Charlotte as she walked to school that Captain Man should've been there, and that there was no way he'd send Kid Danger in there by himself, but at any rate, she tried not to think about it). Charlotte spotted Henry out of the corner of her eye but pretended not to see him. She was remembering the text from last night.  
Henry, who had not seen his bestie look at him, knew that if he avoided her, Charlotte would figure out that something as bugging him. On the other hand, if he did go talk to her, she would be able to tell just as fast. Charlotte glanced over her shoulder just as Henry looked at her from behind his locker door. They made eye contact; there was no escape now.

 **Annnnd Chapter 8! I wasn't actually going to write out Henry's nightmare, just describe it as he walked to school, but Chapter 7 was up to being THIS CLOSE to 2,000 words, so I cut off the last couple hundred and added Henry's nightmare for an extra chapter. Anyway, hope you enjoyed it! Until next Sunday, ciao!**


	9. Chapter 9

After a long (long, long) awkward silence (seriously, they couldn't hear the noise all around them or anything), Charlotte was the first to speak. "Uhh… heeeey, Hen…"

"Er… heeeey, Char…"

Both teens were being super awkward and they knew it. At least no one was paying attention to them; _that_ would've been extra embarrassing.

"Soooo… Hen, your mom dropped off your stuff earlier."

"Uhhhh yyyeah my dad said they'd take it to your house on the way to Bordertown…" Bordertown was in between Swellview and the city the clinic was in. Henry hadn't thought to ask what the name of the town or the clinic was, but ultimately, he didn't care as long as it helped Piper.

"Soooo… how's your…" She gestured toward his head and ankle.

"Oh!" Henry exclaimed more loudly than he meant too. A couple students turned to stare at them for a moment. "They're fine," he answered, lowering his voice. "When Ray woke me up this morning the pain was all gone." Good thing he was actually telling the truth this time; even when being totally nervous like she was, Charlotte could read her best read like a book; you know, one of those books with, like, ten different words kindergarteners can read.

"That's good… Why did Ray wake you up?" Charlotte couldn't help but worry that Ray had somehow noticed her acting weird and blabbed to Henry.

"Oh, you know, just what he likes to do… oh and he was double checking I was still coming in today…"

"Oh, okay then…" Charlotte relaxed a little. Still, only a little. Who knew if Henry was hiding something (Okay, _maybe_ she was having a hard time reading the Henry Book just then)?

"Hey, guys!" Henry looked up and saw Jasper turn the corner. _Uhhh… how long he had been standing there?_ "Hey, Jasp."

"Hey, Jasper." Both Henry and Charlotte were both glad that and mad at Jasper for showing up; less awkwardness, less time alone with the other to brave up. _Like that was going to happen anything soon_ , they both thought simultaneously.

"Guess what? It's supposed to get really hot this afternoon"- Swellview was one of those places where temperatures tend to be high most of the time- "so I thought maybe we could all go to The Pond after work."

The Pond was actually a lake in Swellview Park, but it used to be pond-sized back when their parents were little kids. Now it was as wide as a swimming pool and a good seven feet deep, but nobody wanted to bother changing the name (plus, "The Lake" wasn't as catchy. Everyone agreed). People are allowed to go swimming there almost year-round. There's an actual pond- Swellview Pond- but without the swimming; it isn't very deep, and city officials wanted to preserve it, anyway.

Henry smiled a little. "Yeah, that's a good idea. We haven't been to The Pond since last summer."

"Yeah," agreed Charlotte. She knew that if Jasper were there, that'd be one more person to keep her and Henry from being alone together again. One more person to keep the awkwardness a at minimum. Of course, there was the whole any-moment-they-could've-chosen-to-be-brave-even-though-it-probably-wasn't-going-to-happen-because-they-were-too-scared thing while they were alone there. "On one condition- Jasper, for the love of all things living, _please_ wear a swim shirt." Charlotte turned back to her locker, hoping the boys hadn't noticed how her voice had cracked on the word _love_.

Henry snorted at his bestie's comment but quickly covered it up with a fake cough. Jasper rolled his eyes and muttered, "fine", and they started towards his locker. "But," said Henry, "I didn't think to pack my swim trunks. I'll have to run home to get them." He had his own key to his house in his backpack.

"Well, let's just all go home to change and meet at Swellview Park," said Charlotte. Henry and Jasper nodded in agreement.

During the classes all three of them had together, Jasper couldn't help but notice that Henry and Charlotte kept staring at each other, looking away when they saw the other peeking. Jasper couldn't help but think this was... _interesting_. Not that he was surprised. Jasper had known since forever that something would happen between his two besties ("besties" being a word he never dared to say out loud, but anyway he was really just surprised it took so long). He had to refrain from laughing out loud at his discovery. _I knew it!_ He kept thinking. _I just_ knew _it!_

Jasper kept a close eye on his friends for the entire school day, not to mention the walk to Junk n' Stuff, grinning to himself everytime he noticed them looking at each other. But the grin was wiped clean off his face when the three of them arrived at a Junk n' Stuff.

...

Ray was up at up at the store when they arrived. He had kind of a hard, serious look on his face. There was also a hint of worry. This gave the teens a bad feeling, and they exchanged looks. Their boss was usually all jokey and light, not silent and hard. "Ray?" Henry put on hand on his boss's shoulder. "What's wrong?"

"And where's Gooch?" Charlotte looked around, unable to see the man.

"Henry and Charlotte. Downstairs. Now." That was the only response he gave. Henry and Charlotte both looked at Jasper, who just shrugged and got behind the counter. Their stomachs in knots, the boarded the elevator with Ray.

Ray's hand hovered over the button for a moment before pressing it, sending the elevator flying down. He looked over at his sidekick and Charlotte, whose faces were creased with worry. They both knew something was wrong and waited for Ray to say something. The elevator door opened with a _ding_ , and Henry and Charlotte's widened when they saw who was in the Man Cave. Someone who wasn't supposed to be there. Someone who was planned to return not for another few days.

"Schwoz?!" Henry cried.

"What are you doing here?!" Demanded Charlotte.

Schwoz- who was wearing a lab coat and goggles- made a short "leave-me-alone" sound and didn't look up from his work, which appeared to be something on a small lab table.

"Schwoz!" Henry' voice went up an octave as he started towards him, with Charlotte right on his tail, but Ray pulled him away. "Kids, come here an listen up." Ray led them towards the sprocket door and into an unused guest room, keeping a close eye on the floor and barely opening the door wide enough for them to get through. Henry and Charlotte sat on top of the bed that was in there while Ray stood up in front of them.

"Alright, listen up," Ray repeated. "Yesterday, right after Charlotte left, I found something. A rat."

"But why would you drag us-" Ray the techie a look. Charlotte cut herself off before she could say _all the way up here to tell us about a stupid rodent_ when she realized there must be something wrong about this rat Ray was talking about.

Ray drew in a deep breath. "The rat- it was a robot. And it's eyes were cameras…" The teens blood simultaneously froze to ice. "Bu- bu- but… That means…"

"It was planted." Charlotte finished Henry's sentence, her eyes wider than a soda can.

"Yes," confirmed Ray. "I called Schwoz and made him come back right away- he's looking at it right now; earlier he also found a recording chip."

Henry and Charlotte's breathing just about stopped.

"So someone knows who you guys are? That I know you?"

"We're not sure," said Ray. "Schwoz had discovered that the information was being stored inside the rat, so we were able to determine how long it's been here. Which was for…" Henry and Charlotte looked at him expectantly. Ray sighed and just spat it out. "A week."

Charlotte shrieked and Henry almost fell off the bed. There was so much that rodent probably saw and heard. Henry and Ray transforming. Talks about missions and life. How things worked around the Man Cave. How to get _into_ the Man Cave!

 _OH MY GOD!_

"We did five different security sweeps yesterday of Junk n' Stuff and the Man Cave. Schwoz thinks this rat was the only one and was supposed to find its way out and return to whoever planted it, but we aren't sure. Nor do we know if it has any friends who'll come looking for it." Ray paused to take a breath. "We decided it was better safe than sorry, so here's what we're gonna do-" Ray pulled something out of his pocket "-take one. Both of you." Henry and Charlotte stared at the gumball tube Ray had in his hand for a moment before they exchanged a look. They finally each took one and studied them. Rather than pink-red or light blue, these gumballs had rainbow swirls; it seemed like every color known to man was visible on the little thing.

Ray poured one into his palm and looked at his sidekick. "Henry, blow."

Henry looked at the sphere in his hand and hesitated for a moment. Part of him wondered if this was some sort of prank. Then again, Schwoz would never agree to end his vacation for one. _Would he?_ Plus, Ray probably could never keep a straight face and wouldn't prank them about something this serious, anyway. _Would he?_

Henry finally pushed his worries away and slowly stuck the gumball he had in his palm into his mouth. He chewed a couple times and blew a bubble, just like he would as if transforming into Kid Danger. Rainbow lights surrounded him for a moment before he was visible again. He looked at his bestie.

Charlotte screamed.

 **Uh-oh, _that_ doesn't sound good. Why did Charlotte scream? What did the gumball do to Henry? Tune it next week and find out!**

 **Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


	10. Chapter 10

Charlotte's scream made Henry scream louder and Ray even more loudly screamed at them to stop screaming. Henry looked in the mirror that was across the room on a dresser and screamed again, this time even louder than Ray.

The boy that looked back at him looked nothing like Henry. _Nothing_ like him. The boy in the mirror had skin that was darker than Charlotte's if she had dumped a bucket a black paint on her face. Instead of brown, like they should've been, his eyes were a _very_ light green. The short blond hair he had always sported was now white and down to his waist, in dreadlocks that were only halfway braided. The plaid shirt, jeans and sneakers he had been wearing had been replaced with a baggy green t-shirt that matched his eyes and red shorts with white converse.

"WHAT THE HE-" Ray slapped a hand over his sidekick's mouth to shush him.

"SHHHHH! Henry, Charlotte, SHUT UP AND LISTEN." The astonished kids immediately closed their wide-open mouths, desperate for an answer.

"Listen," Ray said again, getting up to pace around the room. "Since we don't know if there are anymore recording rodents- _Hey, that was a good one,_ Henry and Charlotte thought simultaneously "-Schwoz created a gumball that reads a person's DNA and makes them look totally different. There's one for everyone here, but Schwoz hadn't taken his yet; we were hoping to not shock you too much." _Mission failed_ "I'm putting a couple tubes in the elevator; only look like yourselves upstairs. Clothing varies by day, though. Otherwise it works the same way our Captain Man and Kid Danger gumballs do. Oh, and before I forget- no real names in the Man Cave from here on out." Ray looked at his employees, who had both looked back at the mirror and were again staring at Henry's reflection. "Seriously? Still processing?" Charlotte and Henry quickly shook their heads and gave Ray their attention back. "Okay, Charlotte- your turn.

Charlotte got up off the bed and stood in front of the mirror so she would be the first to see her new reflection. Taking a deep breath, she blew the bubble, knowing they would all would be in for a shock when she looked in the mirror.

She was right. This time, though, there was no screaming. Even so, Henry's jaw dropped, and Charlotte's eyebrows rose up practically off her forehead with a gasp.

Charlotte's skin was pale; kind of a pinkish-white. Her hair had grown long, not to mention it appeared straight and had been pulled into a french braid down the side. It changed color, too; it went from brown to black, white, and a little bit of grey. Her eyes- which had gone from brown to light blue- were loaded with mascara, and her lips were covered in red lipstick that matched the shirt she had on under blue jean overalls. Her sneakers had turned into matching red sandals, revealing red toenails to match her perfectly manicured fingers.

Charlotte sweared a little under her breath. She was unrecognizable.

"Impressive, huh?" Charlotte turned to Ray. "My God, Ray…" Ray smiled a little and blew a bubble.

If someone drew a line between the colors of Henry's and Charlotte's new skin, Ray would be smack dab in the center. His short, dark hair was now a pale blue and shoulder length, and his eyes went from blue to light brown. The blue shirt and jeans he had on a minute ago were the same, except now it was tye-dye and a plain tee without the buttons. He also had blue converse on his feet instead of the black sneakers.

Henry and Charlotte were staring at their (meaning all three people's) reflections when Charlotte gasped again. The boys looked at her, alarmed.

"Ray, what if there's a rat in this room?" Henry's eyes widened at the suggestion. Ray shook his head.

"Don't worry; the door to this room hasn't been opened for weeks until now, and the vents and everything-" Ray snapped his fingers "-sealed. No way it could've gotten in here. Plus, the walls in here were soundproofed back when the Man Cave was built." The teens relaxed a little. Ray looked at his sidekick.

"Henry, you come with me. I'll stick these-" he held up a few gumball tubes he had in his pocket "-in the elevator, and you go get Jasper and explain everything to him in there. Don't bother having him try it- just tell him and send him back to the counter. Gooch is up there with him, and he already knows, so someone will be up there when Jasper's with you." Henry nodded and made his way toward the door.

Ray turned to Charlotte. "Charlotte, you go help Schwoz examine the rat. Got it?" Charlotte nodded. Henry opened the door, and they left the room.

...

Ray put a box inside of the elevator- in the corner second-closest to Junk n' Stuff-and stuck five large gumball tubes inside of it. Henry went with him so they could show Jasper what they did.

Gooch had quietly explained to Jasper the situation- from the rat to the gum- so Jasper didn't scream (but he did gasp) upon seeing Henry and Ray. Needless the say, Jasper wanted to try, but Henry and Ray said no. "We need to save them for later," Ray had said.

Meanwhile, Charlotte looked at the robot rodent while Schwoz went off to blow _his_ gumball. When returned, Charlotte gasped a little. His skin had gone from Caucasian to a light brown; instead of having some hair on the sides and back of his head, he had some curly pink hair on the top of his skull, but he was still wearing the lab coat. Truthfully, Charlotte couldn't help staring.

Neither, it appeared, could Henry nor Ray. Their had been a couple minutes of everyone staring at each other so it could really sink in before the gang began to do various things.

With Charlotte's help, Schwoz finally managed to completely take apart the robo-rodent for inspection. He suddenly decided it would be helpful to shoo Charlotte away so he could do it on his own. She tried to object, but Ray told her to come with him to the storage room. "You too, Henry."

So the three of them soon found themselves making lists of what's still in storage, going through things and trying to find uses for them. None of them really wanted to, but they needed something to make them forget about the software mouse for a bit.

Finally, after what seemed like forever and ever (in reality, it only took about thirty minutes), they heard the door to the storage room open and Schwoz's voice, calling them over. Anxious for some sort of answer, the three of them followed him back into the Man Cave, finding that Jasper, Gooch and Bork had also been called down by Schwoz and were sitting down on the couch, each of them looking like completely different people, having blown their bubbles.

Jasper's new skin looked just like Charlotte's real skin; his hair was long- down to his waist-, pink, and straight. The red tee and shorts he had on earlier had been replaced by a green sweater with jeans, and he had on lime green sneakers.

Gooch and Bork appeared to have some sort of twins-thing going on. Both men now had Caucasian skin and shoulder- length blond hair. They both had an a tee shirt and jeans, but Gooch's was blue to match their new eye color while Bork's was what could only be described as blood-red. They also both had on white sneakers.

Everyone (except Schwoz and Ray, who had seen the previous day what everyone would look like) stared a each other for a full two minutes before Henry, Charlotte and Ray sat down on the couch with Jasper, Gooch and Bork.

Schwoz cleared his throat and everyone snapped away from the stares and gave him their attention. He took a deep breath.

"Alright, here's what I found out."

 **Uh-oh, this doesn't sound good... What do you think Schwoz discovered?**

 **Ciao!**


	11. Chapter 11

No one had ever seen Schwoz this serious. Never. He had always been a very lighthearted man, not to mention a bit of a prankster. Ray will never forget the time Schwoz fiddled with his gumball tube and put him a wedding dress. Then again, no one's ever going to forget that day. Or The a Trouble with Frittles, as much as they wanted to.

Henry, Charlotte, Ray, Jasper, Gooch and Bork all stared at Schwoz. He cleared his throat again and nervously began in his Schwoz accent.

"Okay… so the robot rodent had cameras for eyes, and a recording mic in each ear." This made sense. "It had a data chip inside of it- several, in fact. But," Schwoz drew in a deep breath. "Upon unraveling the ye-arn that made up the tail, I discovered that said tail was made up of said ye-arn and- and…" Poor Schwoz seemed so afraid to say it- it wouldn't surprise anyone if Ray took any anger out on him; it's not like he hasn't done it before. Shoving Schwoz into a bucket of oats, for instance (further proof that the Frittles Voting was nothing but trouble) For a second, everyone could've sworn they saw a tear roll down his face. They couldn't help but wonder if they've even ever seen Schwoz cry.

AFree what seemed like forever, he pulled himself together long enough to choke out "a… an antayna."

Despite the fact that they had already been as quiet as mice, everyone else was shocked into silence. The rat had an antenna. Which could only mean-

"OHMYFREAKINGGODSOMEONEKNOWSABOUTUSAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHIWANTMYMOMMYWE'REDEADSOMEBODYHOLDMEAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGHHHHHHOHCOMEONIJUSTFOUNDOUTITHINKI'MGOINGTOTAKEAVACATION **EVERYBODYSHUTUP**!

Everyone went dead still and silent and looked at Ray.

"Now listen up! I don't want any crying, or panicking, or pants pooping-" except "pooping" was not to word he used "- or screaming for their mommies, especially given they aren't supposed to know about any of this."

"Like mine would care," muttered Jasper from where he had ended up after the freak out. Henry- who was standing right next to him- put a hand on his shoulder. He knew Mrs. Dunlop wasn't exactly going to win Mother of the Year anytime soon. Almost everyone knew.

"Now," Ray's voice was a tad softer now, but again, only a tad. "Here's what's going to happen. You three-" he pointed at Henry, Charlotte and Jasper "-stick together whenever possible. Appear natural, as if it's just another day in Swellview, but don't let your guard down. And you three-" Ray turned to Schwoz, Gooch and Bork. "All four of us are going to stay in as much as we can. Obviously, we can't keep the kids here 24/7, but we have to work with it. Got it?" Ray adjusted his position so he was looking at everyone else in the Man Cave. They all nodded a little.

He sighed a little and looked at the kids. "Guys, go home."

Henry, Charlotte and Jasper exchanged looks before slowly rising and walking toward the elevator. Henry pressed the UP button and they all transformed back into their normal selves as the three of them zoomed out of the Man Cave.

Once he was sure his employees were gone, Ray ran toward and through the sprocket door to his room. He collapsed on the bed, and, for the first time in who knows how long, he cried.

Crying hadn't exactly been something Ray did as much as other people for years. One thing he's never told anyone is that he used to cry regularly after he became indestructible; he almost completely fell apart after his dad took away his entire childhood for superhero training- most nights he cried in self to sleep until he turned that feeling more towards anger; that's why he has such a short fuse. Not that he never cried- he turned into a complete crybaby after losing his indestructibility one time (a long story).

Ray jumped a mile into the air when he heard a knock at the door. A muffled voice came through. "Ray? Are you ookay?" Schwoz.

Ray stayed silent. Well, as silent as he good, given that he was sniffling and was not a silent crier, nor was he a frequent one.

"Ray?" This time the voice was Gooch's. There was a little grunt that sounded concerned; it was Bork, who only ever communicates with grunts.

"Ray? Do you want to talk?" A year or two ago, Gooch's question would have surprised everyone; it wasn't until Henry and Charlotte came along that he started getting a bit more, well, _social_. Honestly, Ray was actually really happy for him. But he stayed silent.

In the hall, the three men exchanged a look. For a minute there was almost complete silence; then Gooch said, in a quiet voice, "Let's leave him alone for a little bit." Then there were footsteps that grew fainter... and fainter...

Ray stayed in his room and continued crying into a pillow as he started reflecting on his life. One frequent thought he had was _If only I had done something different that day- then none of this would be happening._ Of course, that may not be 100% true, even if it did seem to be the case when Henry accidentally went back in time (another long story- there are A LOT of them).

 _Henry!_ Ray jerked up and almost started swearing as it finally sunk in. _I may have destroyed the lives of three innocent children._

Henry. Charlotte. Jasper. Their family and friends. They're all in danger. _And it's all my fault._

Ray jumped off his bed and sprinted out of his room and through the sprocket door, scaring the heck out of Schwoz, Gooch and Bork, who were all three sitting on the Man Cave couch with water glasses.

"Ray?! What's wrong?!" Gooch jumped up and followed Ray to where he had sat down in front of the monitors. Schwoz and Gooch quickly followed. "Ray?! What is going on?!"

Ray finally answered Gooch and Schwoz's question while the computer loaded. "Guys, we need to track their phones. Henry's, Charlotte's, Jasper's, and anyone they come into contact with. If something looks suspicious, then we need to check it out." Ray put in Henry, Charlotte and Jasper's phones. "Ya know what, let's put yours in, too."

Ray put in three more phones, then his own. _Shoot_ , he thought (obviously, that was not the word he used). _I'll need to ask the kids for the other phones._

Ray whipped out his phone (he wasn't sure whether the teens had arrived home yet) and dialed Henry's number.

 ** _That_ doesn't sound good. Who do you think planted the rat? Also, I'm sorry I posted a bit later than usually, I had a really busy weekend and then got distracted watching Henry Danger (LOL). By the way, read the ninth the last paragraph- did anyone notice the SpongeBob reference (okay, it's less of a reference and more o** **f a coincidence, but still)?**

 **Oh, and one more thing; I _was_ planning on having another poll, but did some thinking and decided not to. Anyway, ciao! **


	12. Chapter 12

Looking like themselves again, Henry, Charlotte and Jasper silently filed out of the elevator and out of Junk N' Stuff, not saying a word and barely breathing. They were about a block and a half away from the store when Henry and Charlotte simultaneously breath and sighed. Roughly half a block later, as Henry pressed the crosswalk button (which then gave a curt "Please wait") Jasper finally gulped a little and started talking.

"So… what now?"

They all stopped and looked at each other for what seemed like hours (in reality, it was only about a minute until they snapped out of it upon hearing a quick "Okay, cross").

"I don't know." _That has to be the first time she's ever said that,_ thought Henry as they crossed the road. He decided to say something.

"So… do you guys still wanna go?" he decided not to say where. Just in case.

Jasper looked at his best friend like he was nuts. "After what we just found out?!" he stage-whisper-shouted.

Charlotte shrugged. "Why not? Ray _said_ to act like everything was normal. Plus, chances are someone at school heard our conversation and was coincidentally going to to be there. Hey, it's possible. Besides," the three teens reached the sidewalk and were getting closer to their neighborhood. "If there's one thing we need right now, it's something to distract us from…" she hesitated. "Well… you know."

Boy, did they ever.

Henry mentioned that Ray also said to stick together and that they would all need to stop by his, Jasper's and Charlotte's houses. They agreed and arrived at their first destination.

As Henry reached under the mat for the spare key (he had his own, but after everything Schwoz just told them, he decided not to take any chances), he realized just how quiet it would be once they got inside. It was actually a bit spooky, knowing his family wasn't going to be in there.

Fortunately, neither was anyone else. The three teens listened carefully for a moment before Jasper closed the door and Henry went upstairs.

It was quiet. Too quiet. Henry has never been used to an empty house, _especially_ after Piper was born- she went from a crying, screaming baby to a whining, screaming child; not that big a jump- the only real difference is the lack of smelly diapers.

Henry realized he had started staring off into space and reached into his closet for his swim trunks. It hit him as he jammed them into his backpack along with a pair of swim goggles that he needed to call his family.

His hands shook as he hit the button to call his mom.

"Uh… Mom?"

"Hi, sweetie!" Henry sighed a HUGE sigh of relief while holding his hand on the phone upon hearing that his mother's voice sounded normal.

"Hey, Mom… uh, I uh, just wanted to see if things were going O.K."

"Oh, thank you, honey. Things are going great here. We think this might actually help Piper without using that spray…. What was that stuff made of again? Rabbit pee?"

Henry couldn't help but grin a little. "Something like that, plus a bunch of other stuff."

"Henry?"

"You okay up there?"

"Henry? Who was that?"

 _Oops,_ he thought, remembering Charlotte and Jasper were downstairs. He called to them to "Gimme a second!" before putting his phone back up to his ear. "No one, Mom. Just Jasper and Charlotte."

"Oh, okay then! I'll let you go. Bye sweetie! Love you!"

"Love you too, mom. Bye." Henry hung up, grabbed his backpack and hurried downstairs.

He found Charlotte on the couch reading a really (really, really) thick book, and Jasper on the other side watching the stairs. _Must've been waiting for me._

"Sorry, guys. It occurred to me I needed to call my family since- well, you know."

"Oh. Yeah, that makes sense," said Charlotte, sliding a bookmark that was covered in ponies into the book and closing it.

Jasper nodded in agreement and reacted for his backpack, which he had dumped on the couch upon watching Henry go upstairs earlier.

No sooner had Henry laid his hand on the door when his phone started buzzing in his pocket. He and the others all jumped a foot into the air as Henry fumbled for it. "It's Ray!"

Charlotte and Jasper exchanged wide-eyed looks as Henry tapped the _accept_ button. _Why would Ray call Henry on his phone instead of his Wiz Watch?_ They all thought this just as Ray's panicked voice filled Henry's ears.

"Henry?"

"Ray?! What's wrong?! Did something happen?!"

"No, why- oh, God. I'm sorry, Kid. Everything's fine. Are Charlotte and Jasper there with you?"

"Yeah, hold on." Henry put the phone on speaker and they crowded around it like it was pie.

"Kids? Can you hear me?"

"Yeah, Ray."

"Loud and clear."

"Alright. It just occured to me to track y'all's phones just in case something happens, or if something doesn't look right. I want to put in anyone's phones who you guys know, including your families. _Just in case_."

Jasper nodded even though Ray couldn't see him. "Good idea, Ray. Should we give them to you now?"  
"No, if you guys don't mind, I'd prefer if you came back to the Ma- to Junk N' Stuff, 'cause, well, reasons." Ray really didn't want to say _Because someone may have hacked your phones_ ; he didn't need to scare the teens any more than he had to.

Charlotte was still hanging onto the idea of the Pond. "Ray, can we just drop off a list? It'll be faster."

Back in the Man Cave, Ray exchanged a look with Schwoz, who could hear everything that was being said (Gooch and Bork had gone to poke around the Man Cave, just so they could check for spy rats again). If he wasn't going to say the words _Man Cave_ , then he wasn't going to ask what the hurry was. "Sure, Charlotte. We can do that."

Henry told Ray to give them some time to write everything down (translation: take turns writing while someone gets swimming stuff) and that they'd stop by later.

"Alrighty then. See you guys later.

"Later."

"Later."

"Later."


	13. Chapter 13

The three teens stayed at Henry's house for about 10 minutes to get a chunk of the list done. Henry decided to grab his bike and the extra one they had in the garage (for Jasper, since apparently a bike is too nice a thing for his mom to approve of) so they'd get around faster.

The only problem was that Charlotte's bike was all the way at her house, which would be the last stop before Junk N' Stuff, and Piper's bike was a bit small, not to mention one of the tires had a big ol' rip in it.

"Here Char, you and I can share." All three teens seemed a bit surprised at Henry's offer, but Charlotte didn't object.

Which led to another problem; all three kids had their backpacks with them. Which meant Henry's would be all up in Charlotte's face, not to mention adding weight.

It was Jasper's idea for him to take the two lightest backpacks since Henry and Charlotte were sharing one bike. Despite her size, Charlotte's was the heaviest since, unlike the boys, she took some advanced classes and was in L.I.M.P. So she wore hers while Jasper found a way to wear both his and Henry's.

After Henry locked the front door to his house (and double checking everything was locked- in his defence, they all had a perfect right to be paranoid), he climbed on his bike and nodded to Charlotte, who nervously sat down on the seat (Henry liked to stand up while he rode, anyway, so he didn't mind not having it) and wraps her arms around his waist. Neither of them knew it, but both their faces were the exact same shade of red. Henry purposely took off in front of Jasper so he wouldn't see this. Not that it worked- he was smirking to himself the whole way to his house.

Since the kind, wonderful (said sarcastically) Mrs. Dunlop didn't really like having kids (including her own) inside her house, Henry and Charlotte sayed outside to work on the list while Jasper ran inside to grab his stuff.

Jasper rolled his eyes after passing his mother, who didn't even look away from the TV (she was watching _Swellview's Got Talent_ ) upon hearing his "Hey, mom." He's never mentioned it, but Jasper would absolutely _love_ to just move in with Henry and start calling Mrs. Hart "Mom" and Mr. Hart "Dad". Well, maybe not Mr. Hart. Plus, there's Piper to deal with, which was never and probably will never be fun.

Maybe not.

Jasper ran to his room and had to search for a few minutes until he found his suit and shirt, which he then jammed into his backpack. He was at the doorway about to exit when he suddenly stopped and looked around for who knows how long.

Jasper's room was filled to the brim with as many buckets as the eye could see, although he really hadn't thought about them as much lately as he used to, as well as basic bedroom stuff- a bed, a dresser, the closest- not to mention it was a bit messy. Jasper's realized that if whoever planted to robot rat revealed everything, they might have to flee Swellview. All of them. Forever.

Suddenly, Jasper heard one of his besties make some sort of loud noise (he couldn't make out what the word was, since the closed window muffled the sound), and his train of thought suddenly shifted back to the looks they kept giving each other before. Jasper's upper lip curled as he leaned against the door and closed his eyes for a bit before walking through the house and through the door with a quick "Later, Mom."

…

While Jasper was inside his room, Henry and Charlotte were able to almost completely finish with the list of people- they only needed to add some of Jasper's family. Neither of them had their numbers besides his parents, so they decided to let Jasper write them down at Charlotte's house later.

There was a moment of awkward silence before it was finally broken.

"Shouldn't Jasper be out by now?" Henry followed Charlotte's gaze toward the front door and shrugged in response to her question. "I dunno. Maybe he can't find his stuff."

"Or maybe _they_ got him-"

"Charlotte, _stop_!" Henry cried out suddenly. Charlotte jumped a mile into the air and stood up at this unexpected reaction. " _Please_ don't say anything about it."

"Oh, Hen." Charlotte sat down next to her bestie again. "I'm so sorry. It's just… I'm just really worried about all this. It's scary."

"Yeah, but at least you don't have to deal with the guilt if/when something happens!" Henry buried his face in his hands.

"Hen, what'd- oh, my God. Henry," Charlotte took his hands in hers (as a result of which both their heart rates tripled). "Henry," she said again. "None of this is your fault-"

"But I'm the one who got the job as a su-" Henry caught himself and shut his mouth closed for a moment before continuing. "-a you-know-what in the first place."

Charlotte then pointed out that he thought he was signing up for a part time job as "that guy with a broom" when he went down to Junk N' Stuff.

"But when I got down to the Man-" he cut himself off again and fixed his mistake. "-basement, Ray told me the truth and asked if I still wanted to do it. And I'm the one who said yes."

Charlotte took a deep breath and scooted a little closer to Henry, their hands still connected. "Henry, think about all the wonderful things you've helped Ray do. Defeating The Toddler. Taking down the Phone Shark, which you did all by yourself-"

"You're the one who found him." Henry countered.

"But you took him down at the wedding. You also helped Ray get his power back. You figured out who almost killed Debbie-"

"And then almost killed her myself," muttered Henry.

Charlotte ignored him and continued. "You pushed through everything Invisible Brad put you through. Twice. You helped defeat the spoiler, even if Piper did help you with that a bit. You helped Ray defeat those kids who were stealing prizes. You shut down Gerta when she was trying to kill Mitch. You found the Emergency Lockdown Timer. You saved Bianca from a falling elevator." Charlotte winced a little upon realizing who she just mentioned. But Henry didn't even blink. "You tricked and help take down the Walldogs. You saved me from being killed by Courtney and from trying to kill you and Ray." _Not that Ray could've been physically hurt in any way,_ they both thought simultaneously. "You helped Piper's basketball team. You survived an explosion. You saved Ray from freezing to death, and Piper from Ox Pox. You saved Ray from all those villains. You convinced him to let Jasper keep his memory. You saved Piper and all those kids from the Zombees. You helped me destroy Schwoz's machine. You helped a trapped man from a mountain. You defeated Drex- _without_ Ray's help. You beat him- and all the other teams- in the Dodge-A-Leen Tournament. You saved Piper, Kale and Jasper from Drill Finger and Noelle. You saved all those bunnies _while in outer space_. You got Ray out from where he was trapped when he had to seal that gas leak. And you've help defeat numerous villains, many of them multiple times. Some of these you did as Kid Danger, some of them you did as Henry. But either way, it was YOU." Charlotte paused to take a breath. "Is that enough credit for you? And I know for a fact I'm missing some."

Henry couldn't help but grin and give in. "I guess you're right," he said, sitting up a bit. "I have helped out around here a lot. I guess..." Henry stared off into space for a full minute. "I guess it's just harder to acknowledge everything Ray and I do when we have to wear masks."

Charlotte nodded and hesitated a little before she suddenly dropped Henry's hands and pulled him into a hug.

They were both a little surprised, but he hugged back anyway.

"Henry," said Charlotte into his shoulder. "Don't put yourself down like that. You do much more for this town than everyone else our age. Most of them think the best they can do is recycle. You fight bad guys on a weekly basis and emerge victorious."

Henry smiled again, and they stayed in their hug forever.

Or the would have, if Jasper hadn't suddenly owned the front door right then and scared the heck out of them.

Henry and Charlotte jumped apart quicker than Jasper could say, "I'm back!"

The two, hoping Jasper couldn't see his red there faces were, hopped back onto Henry's bike as Jasper hopped onto his, and sped off to the last house. Charlotte wrapped her arms around Henry's waist, smiling as she did so. They simultaneously had a thought.

 _We shared a moment._

 **I really hope you all liked this chapter! Let me tell you, I literally had to go through the plot of every episode up to JAM Session on the Henry Danger Wiki, LOL! Ciao!**


	14. Chapter 14

Upon arriving at her house, Charlotte slowly unwrapped her arms from around Henry. Then she slowly climbed off the bike. Jasper handed Henry his backpack and he fished out the suit and goggles he put in there, and handed it to Charlotte. The two nodded to each other and she started up the steps to her front door (at this point, she was walking her normal pace rather than that of the hallway snails she sometimes got stuck behind at school) with Henry's backpack in hand (they decided without saying that it made sense to just leave his here, since he was going to be living here for the week).

Henry watched her walk until she was out of sight (but not out of mind) before reaching into his backpack for the pad of paper and pen (they would've used their phones and just texted Ray, but they knew without it having to be said that paper would be smarter, since hacking was always a possibility. Plus, paper can be destroyed forever, unlike data) they were using and sitting down next to Jasper on the sidewalk so that they can finish the list while Charlotte went upstairs.

No sooner had Henry opened his mouth to tell Jasper how much progress they'd made at his house before taking had Jasper suddenly went, "So what's up with you and Charlotte?"

Needless to say, Henry jumped a mile into the air and his face turned redder than a baboon butt. "Nothing. What are you even _talking_ about?" Henry was trying desperately to play it cool, but their was no denying it now. Jasper _knew_.

And he didn't see very interested in keeping it down!

"I KNEW it! I was right!"

"For once," muttered Henry before going, "Whaddya mean, you were right?!"

"I mean, _I was right!_ " Henry shot his friend a look. "Okay, okay, down, boy. Look, I just knew, okay? For one thing, you guys were sitting _very_ close to each other when I came outside earlier. And besides, for years now I've just looked at you two and have always been positive that something was going to happen. But when you guys told me that you were dating-"

"Aw, _geez_! Please don't even mention that embarrassing incident!" Henry cringed and softly face palmed.

Jasper looked TOTALLY confused. "But you guys and-" his face twisted into realization when it hit him. "Oh… it wasn't real?"

Henry shook his head and continued to stare at his shoes. "No. We were trying to convince Ray to let you in on everything, and he said if you could keep a secret for a week then we'd bring you down to the Man Cave. But part of the agreement was that Ray chose the secret."

Jasper nodded as the pieces of the puzzle came together. How the two of them refused to kiss, and why Ray worked so hard to get him to spill the beans…

"Hey, when _did_ Charlotte find out, anyway?"

Henry looked up. "I thought we told you."

"If you did I forgot."

Henry took a deep breath. "It wasn't too long after I got the gig."

"How long is 'not two long'?"

"I dunno. If my job were a TV show it would be sometime during the third episode. I think she was suspicious after a few little side effects from this one machine-"

"Ooh, what machine?" Jasper looked _way_ too interested."

"I'll tell you about that in a minute. Anyway, afterwards she kept asking questions and getting more and more suspicious. One day, after hearing on the news that Captain Man and Kid Danger put out a fire at the syrup factory, Charlotte snuck into my room and sniffed my head- which smelled like syrup- to confirm what she already knew. I tried lying to her, but it was too late. The secret was out," Henry finally put the pen and pad of paper down next to him. "I finally just admitted it." Henry decided to leave out the part about getting fired. He really didn't want to think about losing his job when that was possibly going to happen any minute now. Or something worse.

"Oh, and the machine thing- sometime before that I was getting in trouble for falling asleep in class-"

"Oh yeah, I remember that. Puerto Rican history test, right?."

"Yeah. So Ray and Gooch hooked me up to this machine in the Man Cave that put a bunch of facts about Puerto Rico into my brain- it was probably the only reason I aced the test. But it made me mix up my words and scream like a girl for a few days."

" _You're_ the one who screamed that day? I always thought it was Sydney or Oliver."

Henry ran out of things to say (or he was too embarrassed to say anything else, there was honestly no telling which), so he passed the paper and pen to his friend so Jasper could finish his chunk of the list.

…

As Charlotte ran through the empty house (her mom was working late that night, and her dad was out a on business trip of some sort) and to her room (where she set the backpacks down next to Henry's duffle bag, which her mom had given to her that morning), she couldn't think about anything except what has happened back at Jasper's house.

Actually, that wasn't true. The other thing that wouldn't quit bugging her was the whole oh-no-someone-knows-about-us thing. Which made perfect sense, of course.

 _I just don't want to lose him._

Charlotte suddenly lost all of her energy and collapsed onto her bed, trying to catch her breath. Who did she not want to lose? Well, Henry, obviously. But there was also Ray, Jasper, Gooch, Schwoz and Bork. Then there was anyone who's ever interacted with Captain Man/Ray or Kid Danger/Henry, like any girls that have ever been down in the Man Cave (like that hula girl). In fact, anyone in town could be affected.

Thirty seconds ago, Charlotte barely had the strength to finger her pillow, but suddenly she sat up on the bed as if she'd sneezed. Whoever planted to spy rats could've found out about them any other way- like kidnapping someone (like a Man Fan, or all of them- which could mean Piper) and demanding Captain Man and Kid Danger come without their masks so they could post it on YouTube, or something. But whatever the case was, they all needed to figure out _who_ , _what_ , _when_ , _where_ , and _why_. And fast.

Sighing, Charlotte slowly rolled off the bed onto her feet and made her way over to the closet. After searching through her all-too-organized drawers (something Henry noticed once), she pulled out the swim suit she had bought just a couple weeks before- it was a bright yellow that practically glowed against her dark skin and was dotted with little brown horses. Also, it was a one piece with most of the back cut out- and shoved it into a string backpack along with a pair of goggles. She decided to do what Henry had done earlier, and make sure everything was locked before leaving.

It took a few minutes before Charlotte finally secured almost every room (except the garage) and was done locking up her own. As an afterthought, she grabbed three gummy bears from her little dish before heading back to the boys.

Outside, she found that Henry and Jasper had finished the list and were sitting on the sidewalk, talking. They hadn't noticed her. She kept walking. No reactions. Soon enough she could make out what Henry was saying.

"... and then I told her to follow me and lead her up to the tubes, and I said, 'Hug me'." Jasper giggled in that oh-how-cute sort of way. "And she was like, 'uhhh why?' And I told her to trust me-"

"Told who?" Charlotte hadn't actually planned to cut him off so early, but her brain was screaming _WHO IS THIS GIRL?!_

Henry and Jasper turned to look at her in surprise. "Oh," said Henry. "I was telling him about the first time I brought you down to the Man Cave."

 _Me? Oh…_ Memories of that day flooded Charlotte's head as she remembered how Henry led her to the tubes for her first ride up.

"Oh yeah. I remember that." Charlotte held out her hand. "Gummy bear?" Henry and Jasper each hungrily took one- they haven't had anything to eat what the school district called "food" for lunch- and Charlotte began walking over to the garage as she ate her own.

Jasper thought of another question. "When you took Charlotte up the tube- did she scream?" He held back a laugh so his words would be understandable. Charlotte rolled her eyes turned to the thumbprint scanner that was next to the garage door.

"Like a little girl." The boy's laughter drowned out the sound of the garage door opening. Charlotte rolled her eyes again but couldn't help but find it cute. Well, half of it, anyway.

As Charlotte walked her bike out of the garage (feeling disappointed she wasn't sharing with Henry anymore), Henry jammed _his_ suit and goggles into the string bag. The boys (both of them also wishing Charlotte was still on the same bike as Henry) climbed on their bikes. Charlotte locked her garage (and double checked it was secure), hopped on her bike, and the three teens sped off.

 **Annnnnnnnnd Chapter 14! Anyone else been watching the new episodes?! Awesome, right?**

 **Ciao!**


	15. Chapter 15

As Charlotte sped through town with Henry and Jasper, she suddenly thought of something: _How did I come up?_

Henry had been telling Jasper the story of when he took her down to the Man Cave for the first time. _How did that subject come up between them in the first place? Was Henry telling Jasper about how he caught the Phone Shark, and how it was me- not Captain Man- who found him?_

 _Or did Jasper realize that something was between between me and Henry?_

 _Wait- IS there something going on between me and Henry? Let's see, there was the moment back at Jasper's house… but what if he only saw it as me being a good friend?_

Charlotte shook her head as if trying to empty out her brain of all these doubts. Right now, she needed to focus on not riding into Jasper, who was right behind Henry.

It seemed to take hours to get to Junk N' Stuff, even though it takes almost no time by foot, and even less time than bike. When they finally arrived, Henry spotted Ray at the counter from outside.

After grabbing the pad of paper, they three teens walked in to Junk N' Stuff, the dinosaur breathing fire in greeting.

What surprised them was not the presence of a customer- in fact, Henry was pretty sure it was one of Piper's classmates- but the fact that it looked like Ray had been crying.

It's not that his face was totally red and blotchy, nor was he sniffing audibly. Ray had actually thought of this earlier and splashed his face with cold water before coming upstairs. Truthfully, someone could one really tell unless they looked closely and knew what had happened earlier.

Henry, Jasper and Charlotte knew, of course. And, remembering it, they looked for any sign of distress in their boss's face and found some.

The trio nodded to each other and pretended to examine the dinosaur until the customer paid for their item- an astronaut's helmet full of red plastic eggs- and left before moving towards the counter.

"Hey, Ray."

"Hi, Ray."

"Hey Ray."

"Hey their, kids. Got the list?" Ray answered their greeting while trying not to make eye contact.

Henry nodded _yes_ and ripped the pages they used off the pad and handed them to Ray, who folded them and put them into his back pocket. "Thanks, guys."

The three teens nodded and left.

"Did you see that?" Henry said as soon as the door closed behind them.

"See what?"

"He means that Ray was obviously trying to hide the fact that he had been crying, Jasper."

"Oh. Yeah. I noticed that. Isn't that, like, the first time he's ever shed a tear?"

"Doubt it." Henry climbed back onto his bike and closed the kickstand. "In fact, I remember him crying that one time after the Jolly Beetle Incident."

"The what?" Jasper had that look in his eye he always got when Henry and Charlotte were thinking about a Caption Man-related memory and he wanted to know.

"We'll tell you all about _that_ later." Charlotte started pedaling. Henry followed, and Jasper, realizing his bike was still lying on the ground (Piper had broken the kickstand a couple of months ago in a fit of anger), struggled to get on and catch up.

The ride to the Pond seemed to take just as long as the ride to the store had. Charlotte, Henry and Jasper all change in a porta potty (Henry mumbled something about his teacher while doing so). After a few minutes, they were all ready to jump in and get wet, especially since the temperature was so warm.

When Henry saw his bestie/crush- with more skin showing than ever before, in fact- his face turned red and he busied himself with looking for the goggles he brought. Charlotte also felt her face get hot and quickly proceeded to get into the water. Jasper took notice of this and filed it away in his brain.

Within minutes, however, their nervous jitters pretty much disappeared and they were having fun playing in the water together again, just like when they were little. It was also great that there was no one else around, so they had the Pond all to themselves. It was wonderful.

Unfortunately, things began to go downhill.

It all started when Charlotte decided to sneak up and jump on Henry chicken-fight style, laughing when he screamed a little and totally panicked. Jasper joined in the giggles, too.

"Cut it out, guys!" Henry was _super_ embarrassed- as a matter of fact, he would've been less humiliated had he not been a superhero sidekick; this incident basically says _I kick bad guy's butts almost daily, but apparently I can't handle being jumped on by my best friend- who was shorter than I am and weighs less, not to mention she hasn't been helping Captain Man for who knows how long._

It took him a few seconds to realize he'd said that out loud. Sadly (for Henry), this just made his friends laugh harder.

Eventually, Charlotte and Jasper got out of the water and sat down by their stuff so they could laugh without having to worry about keeping themselves afloat. Henry grumbled a bit and let them laugh, thankful no one else was around to watch. _I guess it just goes to show things could always be worse._

And they got worse.

It took three whole minutes for Jasper and Charlotte to calm down enough before getting back in. Once they did, the incident took a backseat in their brains when Jasper suddenly announced that "It's jumping time!"

The three teens began taking turns jumping into the Pond from a small bump that ran along one side; the bump only raised about a foot, but it was popular with swimmers anyway.

Jasper went. Then Henry. Then Charlotte. After the first round, Henry wanted to see if jumping off using his Hyper Motility would make a difference, but Charlotte stopped him right before he was about to go, because she noticed someone walking their dog (once again proving that things could always be worse). So Henry took his turn like a normal person. Then things _really_ started heating up.

 **I'm really sorry this chapter is so short, I had a busy (and slightly difficult) week and weekend. I finished writing this chapter like three minutes before posting, so PLEASE if you spot a typo PM me so I can fix it. Ciao!**


	16. Chapter 16

Charlotte waited until Henry had crawled out of the water before launching herself off the raised bump as far as she could, making it roughly five feet across. There was a big _SPLASH_ that managed to sprinkle a few drops on Jasper and even Henry, who was still walking back to the raised cliff.

Jasper suddenly remembered the day of the Dodge-A-Leen tournament and started laughing hysterically. Henry looked at his best friend like he was nuts (then again, it's been clearly established that he is). "What's so funny?!" Jasper's laughter was contagious- Henry could barely get the words to be understandable over all the laughter.

"I was thinking about the tournament."

"What tour- oh yeah! That was _wicked_!"

"Remember how your sister got Ray out?!"

"Yes! Oh my God, the fact that she wasn't actually out was so freaking _lucky!_ "

"Good thing the ref never called her out when you bounced to hard."

"Yeah, I felt kind of bad about that."

"Even though it wasn't the first time you knocked someone off a tramp?"

Henry punched Jasper in the arm. And not a light punch, either. Playful, yes. Painful? Totally. "Dude, we agreed not to talk about that! Besides, you were the one who told me to jump!" _I think._ A lot of the memory was hazy with guilt. He never said anything about it, but Henry has always felt really bad about it. At least Debbie was okay. Oh, and Whiskers. They were both fine.

In fact, about a week later, Mrs. Putch- well, that's a whole other story.

Jasper shrugged. "But let's face it, at any rate Piper was the reason for our victory. Although it probably helped that Schwoz never stood a chance and Charlotte wasn't even trying."

"Yeah, she only did it because Ray made her. Maybe Schwoz, too. Right Char?" Henry turned around to face- _air?_

Wait. "Charlotte?" Henry and Jasper both turned around three hundred and sixty degrees. No Charlotte. "Char? I swear to God, if you're trying to sneak up on me again..."

…

But she wasn't. Charlotte had every intention of getting out just as soon as she hit the water. In fact, she was on her way up to the surface when something caught her eye. Through the haziness of the water, she could see something down there that wasn't there before. _Was it?_ It looked like… a green blinking light?

The only reason Charlotte could think of for a blinking light at the bottom of the Pond was that _someone knew something_.

 _It's time to investigate._

Since Charlotte had only take a big enough breath for the jump, she poked her nose above water for a bit to catch the biggest breath she could. Her friends didn't see this. Charlotte got her entire face back underwater.

And then she swam.

As she swam deeper and deeper into the water, Charlotte became glad she could swim without plugging her nose with goggles (she actually still had them, but Lord knew where they were, considering she had new ones that only covered her eyes) because otherwise the water pressure would've been unbearable. Henry had actually learned this the hard way- but jumping off a diving board at summer camp _with_ goggles that covered his nose on.

And it only took fifteen minutes for his pounding headache to go away.

Anyway, Charlotte managed to make her way down to the bottom of the Pond to where the blinking light was. There was something else there, too. It was- wait a minute. Has the Pond always had a single seaweed at the bottom?

The light illuminated the Pond floor just enough that Charlotte could confirm what she thought the seaweed to be. Except she was only half right.

Because she didn't expect it to attack.

…

"Charlotte?" Above the surface, Henry and Jasper were looking around their stuff and the area surrounding the Pond. There was no sign of their friend.

Henry was starting to panic. Charlotte was a really good swimmer, and there was no reason for her to still be in the water. Unless…

Henry almost fell into the water as he ran to the edge and squinted. Through the haziness of the water, he was somehow able to make out what could only be the top of a head that was covered with short, curly brown-

" _Charlotte!"_ Henry didn't even think to consider the fact that nothing was wrong before taking a giant breath as he slipped on his goggles and diving into the water.

"Henry?" Jasper turned around and found that either Henry had gotten into the water, or he disappeared and something else made the big splash. He shook his head as if trying to clear it and continued scouting the area.

Henry swam down as fast as he could to Charlotte, who was starting to lose consciousness. Henry grabbed her arm and tried to pull her up, but the seaweed was keeping her tied down. But Henry didn't know that.

At least, he didn't until he finally noticed the blinking light and it hit him. His mind was screaming " _TRAP! TRAP!"_ over and over again as he found the seaweed and yanked. After a few powerful tugs, he heard a faint ripping sound, and-

 _YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!_ Charlotte was free! Henry was ready to jump for joy (although that would've been hard, seeing as how they were underwater), but he didn't even bother trying. _Charlotte now, celebrations later._

Henry grabbed Charlotte, who was pretty much knocked out at this point, under her arms and swam the two of them up to the surface as fast as he physically could. He got both their heads above water with a gasp, hungry for air. Jasper heard this and whirled around from where he was standing.

"Henry?! What the butt is going on?!"

"Just help me!"

Jasper realized that Henry was struggling to keep an extra person afloat and jumped in. Together, Henry and Jasper managed to drag Charlotte over to the towels. As soon as they were done, Jasper glanced around. No one was even nearby to see what had happened.

Charlotte moaned and tipped her head. Henry, who was attempting to hold her up and wrap a towel around her at the same time, talked to her to try to get her to wake up all the way.

And she did. Except it wasn't because of Henry.

Charlotte started vomiting up Pond water into the grass. At least she was turned around so their stuff didn't get drenched- obviously that would not have been their biggest problem, but still.

At any rate, Charlotte was puking up part of the Pond for about two minutes before she finally just laid down and shivered. Henry nodded to Jasper, who went to start packing things up- there was no way they were staying.

Especially after Henry realized the seaweed was still wrapped around Charlotte's ankle.

Henry screeched and yanked it away, throwing it into the soaked grass. Jasper gave him a funny look. "What was _that_?!"

Henry slowly reached for the seaweed and tried not to gag. Not only was it floating in the middle of the grass Charlotte threw up in, but there was clearly something wrong with it. The two boys examined the end that got ripped off and found that there were little wires sticking out of it.

A string of swear words coursed through their heads, but they could only say one thing:

"We have to get this to Schwoz."

 **Yikes! There is something seriously wrong with this picture. Any ideas, guys?**

 **I actually wanted to put an Incredibles reference when Charlotte found the blinking light, but I couldn't get to fit. Also I would've gotten this posted a few minutes earlier but my cat came over at started purring on top of the keyboard (she's a diva, but she's cute LOL).**

 **'Til next time, ciao!**


	17. Chapter 17

While Jasper jammed everything- including the "seaweed" wrapped in a towel- into their bags, Henry grabbed Charlotte's towel and provided some assistance so she could dry herself off. He then helped her slip her shirt and shorts back on over her suit. Henry put his regular shirt back on, and was about to tell the others he was ready when they were when he realized they had another problem.

Charlotte was out of the water and breathing again, but she was having a hard time doing so- a few steps would leave her exhausted. There was no way she could walk out of Swellview Park, let alone ride her bike to Junk N' Stuff. Henry decided to just call Ray for a ride. After scouting out the area with Jasper, Henry ducked behind a tree and flipped open his Wiz Watch.

It beeped for a few seconds before Schwoz answered in his Man Cave disguise. Henry jumped a mile into the air (and nearly hitting the branch above him), he remembered the whole gumballs thing. He figured Ray must be upstairs or something if Schwoz was answering.

"Hello!" The boy could tell that Schwoz was only trying to sound cheerful. There was no way anyone down in the Man Cave could be in that kind of mood. Not without some sort of machine or serum, anyway.

"Hey, Schwoz. Ray there?" Henry, forgetting the new no-real-names-in-the-Man-Cave rule, glanced around. Jasper was keeping a lookout, but he was setill worried.

Schwoz made a coughing sound with the word "names" buried in it. Henry realized his mistake and looked away for a second before Schwoz answered his question. "He went out. Sumething about crunchy pee-oo-nut bootter. Why?"

Henry was dying to ask if Ray had suddenly decided to go off the P.E.P. Diet (as well as why he didn't just make Schwoz go shopping), but he refrained. He could ask later- Charlotte was more important. Besides, it's probably just the news they just found out- things like this can change people.

"Schwoz, could you come pick us up at Swellview Park? We need to show you something. Like, now."

Schwoz had no trouble hearing that something in the Kid's voice was off. "Sure, no prooblem. Where are you?"

Henry quickly explained that there was a parking lot about two hundred yards from where they were and hung up. Jasper looked up, silently asking _So?_

"Schwoz is gonna come pick us up in the nearby parking lot." He jabbed his thumb behind him.

Jasper frowned. "But… what about-" he nodded in her direction.

Henry shrugged. "I guess… we just have to help her.…

...

Since his car was parked in front of the store, Schwoz grabbed his phone and took the elevator upstairs. Just as he got into the main area of the store, Ray walked back in with a bag full of crunchy peanut butter jars, shaking the sign on the door that had been flipped to CLOSED.

"Where ya goin', Schwoz?" His boss didn't say it in a mean way; it was put as if he were simply curious.

"Henry called. He wants me to go get him and Charlotte and Jasper."

Ray didn't even bother groaning at the sound of Jasper's name. "Why, what's up?"

The little man shrugged. "I dunno. Something about needing to show me something." Ray raised his eyebrows. "I swear that's all he said." Schwoz put his hands up in surrender as he said it.

Ray swallowed the lump of bile that was in his throat. "Okay." He made his way to the elevator, almost losing everything in his stomach on the way down.

And not because of the big drop; he was beyond used to that.

…

Henry and Jasper tried having Charlotte lean on them as they walked, but even the smallest amount of physical exercise was totally overwhelming and she had to sit down to catch her breath. They finally gave up and tried to think of a new tactic.

It didn't take long. "Jasper, help me get her on my back."

Jasper didn't object to Henry's idea; it was probably the only way to get Charlotte across to the parking lot, anyway. Plus, there was no denying that Henry- also known as Kid Danger- was the strongest, given all the training and fighting he's endured over the past year and a half or so.

Jasper did as Henry had asked him and helped Charlotte up. The Kid walked toward the parking lot, with Jasper right behind him in case Charlotte slipped.

Fortunately, there were no problems. No more than there were already, anyway. The boys decided to take turns sitting with their friend on the curb while the other went back to the Pond (it was good to know they could keep an eye on their things) to bring back their stuff.

Jasper went first. As he walked, he couldn't help but remember how panicked, worried and anxious the had gotten when they couldn't find Charlotte- especially Henry.

He shook his head, telling himself to just focus on the task at hand, which was to put his backpack on, then walk both bikes from the Hart House to the parking lot.

He did so and swapped places with Henry, who had Charlotte leaning on his side for support. Jasper assumed the same position as Henry walked back to the Pond.

As he walked, his mind raced. _This is all my fault._

 _Again._

 _"Henry. None of this is your fault-"_ Charlotte's voice- how he loved that voice- rang in his ears.

 _But it is._ This thought repeated itself over and over again in his head. _Thanks to my job my best friend was literally_ this _close to an early, wet grave. There's got to be something I can do._

Then it hit him: _I could quit…_

 _Oh, what am I SAYING?! I can't quit! Swellview needs me, and someone might still come after my friends and family anyway. Besides, there's the whole quitting-is-never-the-answer thing._

As Henry reached down for his and her's (Charlotte's) backpacks, he decided that giving up being Kid Danger wasn't going to do much good. _At least I can stop thinking about_ that _._

Henry put his backpack on the normal way and then Charlotte's on backwards ( _Come to think of it, I haven't done that since kindergarten,_ he thought. _Also, how the butt is it so HEAVY?!_ ).

He decided there was really one one thing he could do.

 _I'm going to make sure I protect everyone. Starting with Charlotte._

Henry put his hand on her bike and put up the kickstand so he could walk it over. It seemed like the parking lot where Schwoz was going to pick them up ( _What is taking him so long?!)_ was two hundred miles away, even though it actually didn't take any longer to get there than before (in fact, it took less time since he wasn't carrying Charlotte, and plus he had picked up his pace).

Henry finally reached the curb and set the bike and stuff next to where Jasper had put the first two bikes and his backpack. He then sat on the other side of Charlotte, who was staring out into the distance.

"I told her that Schwoz was coming," Jasper said this in response to the what-is-she-staring-at look Henry was wearing.

"Oh," said Henry. He then joined her, then Jasper, too.

The three of them stared at the space where they would be seeing Schwoz's car together.

 **I'm literally amazed at how far I'm managed to get this since I started. I'm sorry I've been posting later in the day than I used too, I'm really busy this school year. But fortunately I have next week off of school, so maybe I can get a few chapters ahead.**

 **'Til next week, ciao and Happy Reading!**


	18. Chapter 18

Schwoz had Taylor Swift blasting in his car in a (failed) attempt at not thinking about what Henry had said.

 _"We need to show you something. Like, now."_

That one sentence could mean about a million different things.

For a million different people.

Schwoz finally turned the music off when even a _Shake It Off_ sing-along couldn't cure his worries. Well, that and the fact that he had arrived and knew the kids probably wouldn't appreciate his "singing".

It's called voice lessons, Schwoz. Look into it.

Anyway, the three amigos saw Schwoz pull up and stood up off of the curb. Well, Henry and Jasper stood up. Charlotte was still too tired to do anything but sit and slouch.

Schwoz took note of this and raised his eyebrows as Jasper helped his vertically challenged best friend up onto his taller best friend's back.

Schwoz opened the door, unable to wait any longer. "Vat happened?!"

"We'll explain later. Just help us." Schwoz wasn't sure what else to do but what Henry had instructed. So while the Kid put Charlotte in the car and helped her buckle up (Henry knew that Charlotte would hate this if she could stay awake long enough- she's given enough speeches to him about sexism), Jasper and Schwoz put the bikes and bags into the back of the car.

As soon as everything was in, Schwoz got back into the driver's seat, Henry sat next to Charlotte, who had fallen asleep, and Jasper sat up front next to Schwoz.

"Vill you please tell me now?" Schwoz gave Henry a just-tell-me-what-the-butt-is-going-on look.

Henry hesitated. He really didn't want to say anything just yet. He really wasn't sure why, though.

"Schwoz, please just drive us back to the store. I promise well explain there."

Schwoz glanced over at Jasper, who bit his lip. "Fine."

The drive to Junk N' Stuff was- you guessed it- silent. Other than the road noises that come with driving, that is.

At one point, though, Schwoz told Henry to text Ray "to get any of my observation equipment or whatever you think I need for whatever it is that you want to show me". Henry pulled out his phone and texted his boss;

 _Henry: Ray, Schwoz says to get his observation stuff, and also please bring out the doctor scanner stuff. I promise to explain later._

He sent the text and stared out the window until they arrived, Charlotte's head resting in his shoulder.

When that time to arrive finally did come around, Henry woke up Charlotte and walked with her- at this point she was actually able to walk to the elevator and blow a bubble for the different looks. Jasper and Schwoz got everything to take down to the Man Cave with them.

After the elevator ride down, the four found Ray (with his fake physical traits) in the Man Cave, watching Drake and Josh. The stuff Henry had asked him to get was as set up as the Captain could figure it out.

Schwoz finally broke the silence (the TV had been paused when Ray had heard then coming) by saying, "So vat is it you want me to look at?"

"We'll get to that. Look at her first." Henry gestured toward Charlotte, who had gotten down onto the couch.

"Vhy?"

Henry grew tense. "Just do it, Schwoz." He was trying really hard not to panic.

"I can't do anything if I don't know what to figure out." Henry had to admit that Schwoz had a point, but he didn't want to tell the story right in front of Charlotte, given what she just went through.

Henry gestured for the two adults to follow him into the elevator, which they did. As soon as the doors closed, the boy was talking.

"Okay, so this morning the three of us decided to go to the Pond, and we still decided to go after this afternoon because we wanted to act like everything was normal and s-"

"Kid, get to the point."

Henry bit his lip as he realized that the longer he made this explanation, the longer Charlotte would have to wait.

"Sorry. Anyway we were taking turns jumping in and after Charlotte went Jasper and I were talking and then realized that she hadn't come back up yet so I panicked and jumped in and found her down there and there was a thing of seaweed wrapped around her ankle and I tore it out of the seafloor and we got to the surface and Charlotte was barfing water and Jasper and I realized that the seaweed had wires sticking out of it-"

Schwoz cut Henry off by opening the elevator with a curt, "Say no more."

Schwoz asked Charlotte to please lie down on the table so he could scan her lungs and stomach for anything that might be trouble. As she did so, Ray excused himself to go to the bathroom.

Only he didn't. Well, he _did_ go into the bathroom- coincidentally, it was the same one Charlotte had paid a visit to the day before- but he didn't actually _go to the bathroom_.

Instead, Ray found himself sitting on the closed toilet lid, trying not to let tears stream down his face again. One of his employees- his techie who was also Kid Danger's best friend- was at death's door not an hour earlier, and there was no doubt in his mind that it was because she had relations to the town's greatest crime fighters.

 _This is all my fault. I hired a thirteen year old CHILD to be a freaking superhero sidekick and has been putting him as well as his friends and family in danger ever since. But what am I supposed to do, fire them? I can't- no way. And I'm not being selfish... right? It_ would _be better to get through this together..._

Ray quietly cussed himself out for a few minutes before finally leaving to go back to the Man Cave to see how Charlotte was doing doing.

Right after he used the bathroom. Partly so he could tell someone a truth statement.

For once.

 **I'm sorry this chapter is short, and that I posted it so late (at least, it's late Sunday night where I am), I had a busy weekend. Fun fact, writing on a small cell phone while half asleep on a school bus at eleven o' clock at night isn't the best way to avoid typos.**

 **Ciao, and happy reading! :)**


	19. Chapter 19

**Bonjour! Thanks to my week off school I FINALLY managed to get a little ahead of the story and have the next chapter almost ready, so hopefully I'll be able to post before nighttime again :).**

 **Also, I don't know who exactly out there celebrates Thanksgiving, so:**

 **-If you do, then I hope you had wonderful celebrations :).**

 **-If you don't, then I hope you had a good day anyway :).**

 **Okay, enough of my talking. Enjoy this chapter!**

"So she's definitely going to be a little tired, but Char-" (jeez, this no-name thing was going to take a bit of getting used to) "-I mean, _she_ will be perfectly fine soon enough."

The boys breathed a collective sigh of relief upon hearing the news from Schwoz. Both Henry and Ray could feel a huge weight being lifted off their shoulders. They hadn't gotten their friend killed; Charlotte would be fine in no time.

 _But what about everyone else?_

Ray and Henry simultaneously had the thought and shivered a little. Not enough to be visible, but they certainly felt it. There was no telling who this mystery villain would target next, or when, or where, or even why...

Anyway! Now that Charlotte's health had been confirmed, the next thing to do was examine the "seaweed". Jasper quietly fished it out and handed the evil thing to Schwoz, who shooed them out of the Man Cave so he could do his work by himself. He refused to give any reason, but no one argued against the idea. Not even Ray, who could start an argument out of anything ("This glass is cobalt!").

Since they really didn't feel like doing much anything else, Henry, Charlotte, Jasper and Ray took the elevator back up to Junk N' Stuff, so they could at least look normal again and talk. (By the way, Gooch and Bork were taking well-deserved naps and had not yet learned of the situation at hand.) The four blue bubbles again (amazing how quickly those go) and found spots around the store; Charlotte sat on the counter, Henry on the floor by her feet, Ray slouching opposite them, and Jasper by the fire-breathing dinosaur. A time to talk and be normal.

But no one could think of anything to say.

The silence was unbearable. Jasper finally ( _finally_ ) broke it by saying, "So… Story Time?"

After Jasper found out the secret, everyone else who was already in on it would sometimes tell stories of missions, drama and things that happened with the gang. It became known as "Story Time" from pretty much the start. Truthfully, Henry and Ray loved getting to tell someone about what they've accomplished. Not that they (okay, Henry) wanted to brag; it was just nice to be able to let someone _know_.

Well, it wasn't a _bad_ idea.

"Sure, why not," said Henry. "Anything specific you wanna ask about?"

"Didn't you mention something about…" Jasper struggled to find the name. "... Happy Bugs or something earlier?"

Henry and Charlotte winced a little and silently sweared (same swears, same time). Neither hadn't planned on mentioning that in front of Ray, but the boss didn't seem to mind.

"Jolly Beetles," the Captain corrected. "Who wants to start?"

"I'll do it," said Charlotte, eager for something to think about besides the obvious. She then began.

"We realized something was wrong back at the ceremony where they got the medals and the yogurt coupon." Jasper nodded as the memories of where he was flooded in. "So when you accidentally hit Captain Man with the toy, Kid a Danger noticed that his lip was bleeding. So they came back and Gooch ran some tests on Ray while I looked through the security footage."

Henry decided to start talking- Charlotte wasn't the only one who needed a distraction. (Not by a mile.) "Charlotte noticed that someone had intentionally sprayed Ray, and he and Gooch said that it had to have been Jolly Beetle tears."

"And then you two went and caught them?"

Ray straightened up a bit. "No. Well, yes, but not right then because we didn't know where in the world they were at the time. But I was a little scared-" Henry and Charlotte cut him off with these really loud fake coughing noises. "Okay, fine, I was acting like a baby," said Ray, giving in. "But anyway, Charlotte found their location since they had ordered a bunch of Japanese Fish Flakes, which are the one thing Jolly Beetles eat. So then we knew where they were. But when Henry tried to get me to come, I said no. So he decided he was going to go by himself since I was busy being Captain Couch. But I thought it over some, and then realized that I needed to get off my lazy-"

Ray was cut off by the sound of Henry's Whiz Watch beeping. The Kid flipped it open and saw Fake Schwoz staring back at him as everyone else gathered around.

"Hey everyboody, will you please come back now? I've got news." No one could really read the man's facial expression, but they nodded anyway. Henry hung up after he told Schwoz that they'd be down in a minute, and the four of them started toward the elevator- first Ray, then Jasper, and Charlotte, with Henry bringing up the rear of the train.

But halfway there, Charlotte stopped in her tracks.

"Charlotte?" Henry quit walking so he wouldn't run into her. "You… Okay?"

Charlotte looked down and to the side. "Uh… yeah, just…"

 _Yeah, she's not okay._

"Hold on," said Henry. He dashed around her, poked his head into the back room and called to Ray and Jasper, who had already made it into the elevator. "Go on ahead down, we'll catch up." Ray muttered something mean and inaudible about getting left alone with Jasper as the doors closed.

Henry stepped back into the store and looked at Charlotte. "Charlotte? Hey, what's wrong?"

Charlotte looked a bit startled, but recovered quickly. "Nothing. Why?"

 _Nothing, my butt,_ Henry thought. He stepped to the side. "C'mere." There really wasn't anywhere else to sit but the floor, so Henry sat down next to the counter where he had been earlier and gestured for Charlotte to follow. After a moment of hesitation, she did.

Henry didn't wait any time. "Charlotte, I can tell that something's upsetting you. I'm listening- it's just us." Actually, they both knew that there was a strong possibility that they were being watched by Ray or some third party (shudder), but both teens pushed away the thought for the time being.

Charlotte bit her lip and acted as if the aglet of her right shoelace was very interesting for a full minute before she finally sighed. "It's just… Henry, I'm scared." Her voice sounded small, like a child's. Henry nodded in understanding. "I know, Char. I'm afraid, too."

Charlotte sniffled a little, trying her absolute best not to cry. "It- I- I'm just- _sniffle_ \- Henry, thanks to everything going with the rat and stuff I don't- I just don't feel safe wherever I go. Heck, I can't even feel safe down in the Man Cave anymore. There's no telling who, or where, or _why_ , or _anything_ anymore." Charlotte's voice raised and she buried her face in her hands.

Henry automatically scooted toward his bestie and held out his arms. She immediately found herself in a hug/embrace, the same way she did with her mother every time there was a crack of thunder. "It's just God going bowling, Charlotte," Mrs. Page would say. The joke never failed to make her laugh, even now. Except it sounded more like a muffled, choked sob.

After a couple minutes, Charlotte unlocked herself from Henry and stood up, wiping her eyes. If they took much longer, Ray and the others would probably get worried. She started toward the elevator, Henry on her tail.

Charlotte did the honors of pressing the elevator buttons that would send them down to the Man Cave. As the floor dropped and they fell, she remembered her first trip down that heart-stopping ride...

 **Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


	20. Chapter 20

_"Henry, are you sure about this?" Charlotte followed her best friend, who was still in his Kid Danger uniform from earlier, into the back room of Junk N' Stuff._

 _"Don't worry, I'm sure it'll be fine." He was lying. The Kid had no idea what was about to happen. He hit the_ DOWN _button on the elevator and the doors slid open._

 _"But Hen, Captain Man fired you when you told me about all this. I mean, not even that, I figured it out. I really don't think he's going to appreciate me knowing where the Man Cave is on top of everything else." The doors closed._

 _"Charlotte, that already happened. What else could he do?" Obviously, Henry don't know about the memory wiper at the time._

 _Charlotte shrugged and reached out to push the down button. Henry reached out and grabbed her arm, making both of them tense up slightly. Not enough for them to really notice it, though._

 _"Charlotte, before you press that, I should warn you... Remember how I was on the phone with you and Jasper and you heard me screaming?"_

 _Charlotte nodded. "Oh, yeah. I actually meant to get an explanation for that."_

 _"Well, this is why." And he pushed the button._

 _Charlotte screamed as the floor gave out and they flew down. Henry was biting his lip in attempt not to scream himself, given how he was nowhere near used to that elevator yet. He felt like he should really be there for his best friend right then._

 _Charlotte grabbed Henry and continued screaming. Henry hugged her back, feeling less in danger (pun intended) of making a sound._

 _Suddenly, as soon as Charlotte thought her voice would burn out…_

 _… It was over._

 _The two teens crashed onto the floor as the elevator door opened into the Man Cave, where the Captain himself was sitting at the monitors._

 _No one who was there could ever forget the look on Ray's face when he saw not only has Henry returned, but he brought a friend. Ray- who was dressed as Captain Man at the time- gave his sidekick a brief dirty look._

 _But thanks to the news he had watched earlier, it didn't last long._

 _Ray gave Henry a you-better-get-your-butt-over-here face. Henry quietly told Charlotte to "Go sit over there real quick" and followed Ray to the screens, where the Captain played the news clip he just watched again._

One big difference between the first time and the most recent time; the people.

This time, neither Henry nor Ray were in uniform.

This time, they found Jasper down there sitting on top of the couch next to Ray- he didn't know the secret the first time.

This time, Bork was half-asleep on the couch instead of in his room.

This time, Gooch was next to him with his eyes closed instead of at the counter with his eyes closed (that's how Henry managed to sneak Charlotte into the back the first time around).

This time, they found Schwoz, who they hadn't even meant until after a while after the first time.

And, oh yeah, this time everyone looked like total strangers.

Everyone watched Henry and Charlotte walk over to the couch and take a seat on the edges.

Schwoz cleared his throat to give a report on what he's found out today.

Again.

"So, for those of you who do not yet know," he glanced over at Gooch and Bork, who had woken up when Schwoz cleared his throat not ten seconds ago, "a few of us had a- a bit of a scary scenario earlier today." Henry and Charlotte looked at each other. The girl bit her lip. _I will not cry, I will_ not _cry…_

Henry reached under the table that separated him and lightly squeezed her hand. She squeezed back- hard. Like, trying-not-to-fall hard. Henry didn't mind, though.

Except having each other's hand in their own made both teens feel like they were about to sweat enough water for a hot tub.

Schwoz gestured to the little table that had all sorts of little parts on it that were mostly wires- the only one part the three teens and Ray were able to recognize was a green plastic coat in the shape of a seaweed. Gooch and Bork just looked confused, a clear sign they had not yet been informed about what had happened.

"And this is what has been brought back. It seems that this little device was able to read who was around it so it could attack. Unfortunately, if there was any way of communication between this little monster and someone else, it is gone or invisible."

So basically, the gang wasn't any closer to a suspect than they had been before they found out about all this.

Great. Just perfect.

Ray stood up. "Also, new rule," he snapped his fingers. "Buddy system."

"Yay," muttered Jasper under his breath. He _hated_ the buddy system. Every time this happened (like for a school trip), Henry and Charlotte would choose each other, leaving him to ask others to be his buddy, which was usually meant by:

A) "I've already got a buddy."

B) "Uhhhhhhhhhhh no"

C) A long string of language no elementary school kid should know, ot

D) "Pfff. Like I wanna be buddies with Barf Boy" (which was kind of Henry's fault, but that's a whole different story).

Which, okay, was a while ago, but _still_. As far as Jasper was concerned, the Buddy system sucked like a lollipop. _Great, now I'm hungry._

But Jasper had to admit, had no one- well, it was Henry, really, who saved the day (again)- been with Charlotte earlier she'd be dead. So the buddy system isn't a total curse.

Gooch sat up a little. "Er, Ray-" everyone winced as they simotainiosly realized Gooch just said Captain Man's real name "-what exactly _happened_?" Charlotte dropped Henry's hand- making him drop his in surpise- and sat up, too. And stood up so she could walk over to the elevator. But Henry stopped her with a quick "Hold on".

He turned to his boss. "Hey… um, when did you say you guys found the… you-know-what?"

Ray thought for a second. "Um, last night, just after all you kids were gone." Jasper had gone to the nearby grocery store shortly after Charlotte left, so not one kid went home with another. "Why?"

"Well, when you beeped me this morning, you were acting, well… _normal_."

Ray nodded. "I didn't want you guys to worry during school. And I really did want to double check you were still coming in today- just more more reasons than you probably thought."

Henry nodded. "Oh, okay. Well… see ya."

"See ya."

Everyone said their goodbyes as the three teens piled into the elevators, grabbing tubes of gum as the doors closed, seperating the adolescents from the adults.

…

Gooch looked at Ray. "Erm… was it something I said?"

Ray blinked at him. "What?"

"Ch- er, _she_ looked more than ready to leave right after I asked what had happened."

Ray realized what Gooch was saying and hesitated. "Well… kinda sorta. As soon as they leave I'll talk to you- and Bork- upstairs." Ray walked over to the monitors and hit the the secerity camera button- the one on the counter-left side of the store- just as Henry, Charlotte and Jasper- looking like they usually do again- entered the store and headed for the door.

 **I hope you guys liked this chapter! Before I go, I wanted to ask you guys something:**

 **A few days (or so) ago I read the third chapter of a Fanfic called _Bad Day_ (I recommend it) that had an idea for a plot in it I liked. 90bonfire (the author of _Bad Day_ ) said someone could use it if they wanted to, and I was thinking about it. I just wanted to make sure that no one else wanted to try using it before I started thinking about it more, especially since it's going to be a while before this story will be complete. If anyone wants to use it, please let me know via PM or review so I know not to start writing (also so I can look forward to reading it!) since someone else is doing it. Visit the third chapter of _Bad Day_ to check it out if you haven't seen it already if you're interested.**

 **Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


	21. Chapter 21

As soon as Henry, Charlotte and Jasper were out of the sight of Junk N' Stuff's security cameras, Ray hit the button to call the elevator back down. Once it arrived, he led Gooch and Bork to the elevator, where they blew a bubble as it went up to the store. Schwoz stayed behind to further examine the seaweed, or whatever it really is. Well, was, seeing as how it was picked apart. He decided to just keep calling it seaweed for now.

The three adults who left the Man Cave were happy to look like they should as they went through the back room. Except the happy feeling was easily combated by the reason why they had to change appearances in the first place. Among other things, obviously. Like confusion, fear, worry…

You get the point.

Gooch automatically found his place behind the counter, having stood there for so long- jeez, he wasn't even sure how long the store had been around; Bork stood diagonal from him on the other side of the counter, and Ray placed himself across from Gooch.

"So this morning," began Ray. "The kids decided they wanted to go swimming over in Swellview Park."

…

Henry, Charlotte and Jasper had been walking (but not talking) for about five minutes when Charlotte stopped short. "Uh… guys?"

Henry, who has stopped as soon as Charlotte stopped, looked alarmed. So did Jasper. "What? What is it?!" Henry cried out, horrified something was going wrong.

Again.

Charlotte realized she was making both of her friends freak out and put her hands up. "Relax! Relax!... I- I just realized… didn't we leave our stuff in Schwoz's car and at the store?"

Henry and Jasper did, in fact, relax, but then groaned. They sank down onto the bench that sat about a foot away from where Charlotte was still standing. They forgot their things, including their bikes. Which meant walking _back_ to Junk N' Stuff, getting Schwoz to unlock his car, getting their stuff, locking the car, transforming, getting the stuff that is still down in the Man Cave, and _then_ getting the right bikes to Henry's house, and getting him and Charlotte back to the Bolton house with Jasper at his own place.

 _Yay…_

It was Charlotte's idea to call Schwoz ahead of time and see if he could just give it to them at the door. Jasper thought about just volunteering to get it all himself (he figured Henry and Charlotte needed some _alone_ time- now that he knew something was going on, he was definitely committed to fanning the flames), but then remembered the Buddy System. _Once again, I have reason to despise it,_ he thought. He bit his thumb as he walked. It dawned on him that there were three bikes and bags, so he couldn't do it by himself fast enough, anyway.

As they walked back, Henry decided to just call Schwoz on his phone (his swim trunks, which he was still wearing, had a zip-up pocket that was supposedly waterproof. Henry had taken his phone out of his backpack and put it in there a while back) instead of using his Whiz Watch since there were more people around than there had been earlier. Plus, it would be faster to walk and call instead of finding a hiding spot to Hologram Chat. They didn't even know for sure that Schwoz or anyone was down in the Man Cave.

Schwoz picked up on the first ring. "Everything okay?" was his immediate response to Henry's "Hey, dude."

"Yeah, everything's fine. We just-"

"Forgot your things?" Henry couldn't hide the look of surprise on his face. Charlotte and Jasper took note of this and raised their eyebrows in question.

"How did you know?"

"I spotted Ja- er, one of your backpacks in the M-" Schwoz muttered something under his breath that Henry decided to be glad he didn't hear "-I mean, the basement a few moments ago. In fact, _I_ was just about to call _you_."

"Oh. Well, thanks anyway, dude." Henry silently congratulated himself for remembering the whole no-real-names rule. "Anyway, we're on our way and'll be there in a few."

"Okie-dokey. I will get it all ready for you. I guess you ready to go home already?" Henry laughed a little and said, "Oh yeah." He then said thanks and bye before hanging up and jamming his phone back into the pocket.

…

While Henry told Charlotte and Jasper what the plan was, Schwoz kept his promise and not a minute later was stepping out of the elevator into the back room of Junk N' Stuff with Jasper's backpack in his hand. He could hear voices and paused for a moment to listen.

"...which is when Henry realized that Charlotte was still in the water. I guess his Kid Danger instincts must have kicked in because he immediately went in and rescued her. Then they found the seaweed thingamabob…" Schwoz really didn't care to listen the story again, so he called to his boss and stepped into the main area of the store.

Ray, who had stopped telling Gooch and Bork what had happened when he heard his other adult employee, nodded to Schwoz as he made his entrance. "Hey, Schwoz, did you fi-" he noticed the backpack- "what is that?"

"Oh," said Schwoz, holding it up. "This is Jasper's backpack. He left it in the Man Cave. He and Henry and Charlotte left their stuff in my car earlier."

The three other adults nodded as they processed what the other was saying. "I told them I'd get the other things for them."

Ray and the others decided they may as well help out and not three minutes later had all three backpacks and bikes next to Ray on a bench.

Gooch and Bork returned to their rooms downstairs so they could finish their naps. (Well, Gooch did, anyway- Bork most likely couldn't fall asleep and picked up his weights. Truthfully, Gooch could sleep through a hurricane.) Schwoz followed them as far as the Man Cave so he could try (once again) to look for anything supsious in the seaweed and the spy rat, even though they were completely and utterly dismantled at this point. Still, occasionally the trick with staring at something forever and ever sometimes works.

Sometimes.

…

It didn't take more than two minutes before Ray saw his young employees coming. He realized that he technically wasn't supposed to be without a buddy, but decided to dismiss the thought for now. The event of picking up stuff went by fast:

Henry, Charlotte and Jasper all said hey to Ray (who said hi back) and grabbed their bikes and bags so they could get home. Other than the greetings, no words were spoken. None of the kids mentioned how Ray was alone (let's face it- they all had other things on their minds). They said bye to Ray (who said bye back) and took off.

Told you it went by fast.

Ray sighed a little (though he wasn't exactly sure why) and went back inside. He stood behind the counter playing games on his phone for about an hour and a half until the phone was almost dead. The man was thinking about going down for a nap while his phone charged (or a spar with Bork, whichever came first) when the door to Junk N' Stuff- Ray decided to flip the sign back to OPEN- suddenly swung wide open.

 **Whoa! Who do you think is coming? Leave your guesses in reviews and tune in next week to find out! (Realizing I sound a comic book narrator...)**


	22. Chapter 22

As soon as he heard the bell, Ray's head snapped up towards the door. His brain was screaming at him to use his fists, his feet, anything that could cause physical harm, but fortunately his eyes saw that he didn't need to. Yet, anyway. There was no telling.

Although, if the person who just walked into a store like anyone else was a super villain, they were definitely the youngest. She- Ray guessed it was a she, and he was right-certainly looked like a little kid. The girl had skin that was the same color as Henry's (what it normally looks like, not after the special gum that he and the others started using). She had on a bright pink t-shirt that had the Captain Man logo on it (which certainly pleased Ray- it was too bad he had to hide the smile), and some baggy blue jean capris. Her shoes matched the pinkness of the shirt, and so did her socks. Her chocolate brown hair was waist length and straighter than a tightrope- the opposite of Charlotte's, except for the color. She had these cute little dark brown eyes that looked to be the exact same color as chocolate chips. Ray could see something on her wrist, but couldn't make it out. (It was one of those allergy warning bracelets, which said _Hope Jones: Severe Strawberry Allergy_ on it). Ray guessed she was about eleven years old or so. He couldn't be entirely sure of anything, though. Not then.

Ray suddenly noticed that he had a funny feeling that he had meant her before, but he shooed it away. At least, for now. He made a mental note to do some research later. It could be nothing but a simple case of deja vu, but Ray didn't really bother to consider the possibly. "Hey there, kid. You looking for something?" He figured there was no harm in being nice; she was a customer, after all. Plus, acting suspicious of everyone around him might just give a clue to… whoever.

"Yes, I need a present for my brother. It's his birthday tomorrow," she said in a high child's voice. _Shockingly polite, for such a little kid._

Ray smiled at her, hoping it didn't look too fake. "Well, feel free to look around."

Hope took her time, picking up different items and examining them before she put them down. Ray watched for a minute before grabbing one of Gooch's magazines (hold the phone- Gooch reads _Seventeen_? Ray silently chuckled to himself, knowing he had something to blackmail Gooch with if needed) and pretending to read (neither he nor Hope noticed that the mag was upside down). Ray didn't want to accuse the little girl of anything, but he wasn't going to let his guard down. Not after everything that's been going on around him.

After what seemed like forever (it was actually only fifteen minutes, not including the five she spent in the bathroom), Hope picked out a plastic statue of Donkey Kong that was about the size of Ray's foot. She paid for it and left.

What bugged Ray is that he didn't hear a car or anything that indicated someone was picking the child up. He didn't know her age (or even her name), but she seemed a bit young to be out by herself, especially since it wouldn't be too long before sunset. Maybe her chaperone was next door.

Ray got out from behind the counter and poked his head out the door. There wasn't a single sign that anyone had been there. _Well,_ thought Ray, _it's not like people usually leave a sign advertising where they'd been._

Ray made a mental note to check the security cameras later before bed.

Except by the time bed time rolled around, he was too tired to do anything but collapse into his bed.

…

While _that_ happened, Henry, Charlotte and Jasper wasted no time peddling home. No words were exchanged until they arrived at Henry's house. He took a minute to put his bike in the garage along with the one Jasper had borrowed and then went inside to look around for anything suspicious; moved objects, notes, anything unusual, as well as to check (once again) that everything was locked and sealed tight.

Just as Henry was about to go in, Jasper volunteered himself and Charlotte to scout the front and back yard. Charlotte wasn't actually sure whether she wanted to go inside or stay outside, but the decision was made for her since she didn't want to object- she knew the boys well enough to know they'd ask why.

Henry nervously unlocked the front door and slowly opened it, expecting someone (or some _thing_ ) to jump out at him. But nothing happened.

Henry considered leaving the door open in case he needed to make a quick escape or something, but decided not to in case any spy rats or marine life had followed him home.

If walking through the empty house _before_ the Charlotte-almost-drowning incident wasn't absolutely terrifying, then it certainly was now. As Henry made his way towards the kitchen, every little sound made the Kid jump, making him feel less like a superhero and more like an eleven-year-old in a haunted house with decent decorations.

Henry suddenly started sprinting, and the next he knew he was lying at the top of the stairs, he elbows and knees throbbing painfully. He had just gotten back onto his feet and was trying to walk and feel around for bumps at the same time when he heard the front door suddenly swing open.

"HENRY!"

"Henry? Are you ok?"

Henry poked his head around the corner and saw Jasper and Charlotte in the doorway, looking like they had heard a gunshot, or a cannon shot. Which maybe they had mistook for the sound of Henry hitting the floor.

"YES! I mean, I'm okay, guys, I just tripped." Henry leaned up against the wall.

Jasper looked more relieved than the time he thought he lost a follower on his bucket podcast, but Charlotte's brain wheels were turning with different possibilities about why Henry had crashed.

"Henry," Charlotte called, "did you trip over something?"

Henry and Jasper both realized what Charlotte was implying and looked down and up at the steps. Nothing.

Henry sighed. "I don't see anything, Charlotte."

"Me neither," said Jasper, taking a cautious step away.

Charlotte bit her lip. Henry shrugged. "I think I just tripped over my own feet, guys. Or one of the steps." Henry remembered a dream he had once and almost suggested a banana peel, but then decided against it for now. "Y'all can go back outside." Charlotte and Jasper exchanged an uh-okay-then look and exited the house.

As soon as the door closed, Henry walked to his room; the journey couldn't have taken more than a few seconds, but it felt like at least a minute.

His room appeared untouched- everything was where it had been this morning and earlier that day. Still, paranoia got the best of the Kid and he thougherly searched the room for anything, anything at all that seemed at all out of place. Finding nothing suspicious or worth mentioning, he left and stepped over into Piper's room.

It was going to be harder to investigate his little sister's room than his own, since he didn't know what she had taken with her. Henry knew one thing for sure, though; if Piper ever found out about this, he was dead meat. Then again, his parents had labeled him "the good child", so he would probably get off easy. Possibly semi-easy. He could just say he missed his little sister. Or that he wanted to make sure that nothing bad had happened while no one was around.

Henry liked that that second excuse (and _maybe_ the first one) was actually a true statement- he hated having to lie to his family all the time.

 _My family._

It hit him that he wasn't going to be able to watch over his family until they returned. Really, he couldn't just ditch school and work to hang with them at the clinic. _Unless they're not even-_

Henry shook his head as if trying to get rid of the thoughts. He then began his investigation.

 **I was actually going to cut this chapter off earlier than I did, but I didn't have time to add enough words on for a full chapter (UGH, midterms).**

 **Sorry I'm kind of leaving you guys off at a cliffhanger (again...). Maybe I should stop reading so many book series with them separating chapters, LOL!**

 **Then again, my not reading is like anyone else not drinking water, so _that's_ probably not gonna happen. **

**You guys think Henry will find anything? Leave your guesses in the comments!**

 **Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


	23. Chapter 23

**Thank Saint Nick for Winter Break, that's all I have to say.**

 **Well, actually, that's not true, but I'll let y'all read the story before I make you read my authors note.**

Henry made sure to be careful during his search of Piper's room. He was hoping after a week of bring away she wouldn't notice if something was moved an inch to the side, but chances are, Piper wouldn't hesitate to lie about her brother in order to get him in trouble. Which is ironic, given Henry's job is to _stop_ trouble.

 _If she only knew…_

In the end, Henry only found one thing that was really of any interest to him, except it had nothing to do with someone possibly knowing that he's Kid Danger.

Henry's eyes had caught something when he was going through her closet; it was a spiral notebook. Just a plain, purple hundred-page notebook.

Henry's first thought was s _ince when does Piper keep a_ diary _? I swear she was making fun of Marla for it the other day…_

It took him a second to realize that something was… _off_. There were no warning signs on the cover of the notebook like there were on Piper's door. Not a single threat. Frankly, it looked just like an extra school notebook.

 _Which is exactly what they want you to think._ Henry stared down at it like it was about to explode as a voice rang through his head. He really, really didn't want to have to look through it, but he was too paranoid to ignore possibilities and finally opened up.

Nothing.

Henry flipped through the pages, one by one. They were completely blank. There wasn't- _WAIT._

Henry dropped the notebook and ran to his room. After rummaging through his desk drawer for a minute, he found what he was looking for.

It was one of those pens that write in invisible ink with a special light. Henry took the pen with him back to Piper's room and shined the light onto the paper. This is what he saw:

 _1\. Lie about Henry missing curfew._

 _2\. Lie about where Henry's been._

 _3\. Lie about Henry's romances._

 _4\. Lie about-_

At that point he stopped reading and rolled his eyes. The notes, which were in Piper's handwriting, were nothing but ways to get him into hot water. Henry's little sister, it seemed, had plenty of material to work with in case she was hungry for revenge.

Just in case, Henry scanned the rest of the pages to make sure there was nothing else (at the end of which he discovered that Piper had written down two hundred and two, and counting, ideas) and was relieved to find nothing besides a reason to say _Called it!_

Henry finally shoved the notebook back into the darkest corner of the closet. He had already searched the rest of the room, anyway.

As Henry walked to and searched through his parents room (he made sure to keep an eye out for any embarrassing baby pictures he would need to dispose of), it dawned on him that there was really only one thing that would get him- and his friends- through this without some sort of mental breakdown, and that was distraction. A few years ago, Piper came down with the chicken pox and wouldn't stop scratching. Henry remembered how much it had bugged _him_ when _he_ was sick a few years beforehand, so he went and collected a bunch of books, games and stuffed animals from around the house for them to play with together. Piper completely _forgot_ to scratch, she was so distracted.

Of course, Piper didn't have to go around pretending that everything was normal or change her features (although she wanted to, given the number of spots she had everywhere). But still, it wouldn't hurt to try.

 _Maybe Charlotte and I can watch a movie when we get back to her place. We haven't seen_ Elf _in awhile. Well, that's probably because it's not Christmastime._

Henry thoroughly searched the room until he had gone through practically every square inch of it (he did not find any embarrassing baby pictures- his parents must have hidden them away somewhere).

Needless to say, the search of the Hart house was getting boring, despite the fear coursing through his veins. He finished his search of the house (which seemed to take hours) and, after double checking (again) that everything and locked and loaded (well, not loaded), he stepped out to the front yard and found Jasper and Charlotte sitting on the sidewalk. _I guess they finished investigating the outside world…_

Henry locked the front door while his friends, who had heard him coming, stood up. Charlotte climbed on her bike, and, without a word, the three teens set off for Jasper's house.

…

While Henry had been conducting a thorough search of his house, Jasper and Charlotte had conducted one of their own _outside_. No sooner had the superhero sidekick shut the front door that Jasper was THIS FREAKING CLOSE to blurting, "So what's up with you and Henry?"

 _That_ could've ended up a disaster.

Instead, Jasper told Charlotte a funny story about how his old cat would constantly sneak into the pantry whenever the door was open for Temptations and actually consumed an entire boxful of them once. Charlotte was laughing her head off until they heard the crash.

Both friends immediately ran back to the front door and barged in.

Later, after Henry had assured them that nothing was wrong (even though he really didn't know for sure), Jasper and Charlotte cleared the entire outside area before heading back out to the sidewalk. Jasper regaled Charlotte with more funny cat stories for awhile. Charlotte was telling him how her Uncle Rosco's sister-in-laws little brother's step sister's dog once ate an entire Christmas ham when Henry came back out. They set off.

Charlotte rode slowly on her bike while Jasper and Henry walked next to her. Charlotte started her dog story over so she could tell it to Henry, and pretty soon they were laughing so hard Jasper's next-door-neighbor heard and peeked out the window.

Jasper then called "Bye!" to Henry and Charlotte and disappeared into his house, but not before Henry reminded him to tell him or Ray if _anything_ seemed wrong. Jasper just nodded, not wanting to think about it.

Right after they left, Henry bet Charlotte that she couldn't ride faster than he could run and they raced to her house. (Neither of them really cared that it was a tie.) Henry had finally caught his breath when he realized that something was wrong.

"Charlotte?" He lifted his arm to point. "Whose car is that?"

 **I feel like this chapter kinda sucks, but I guess that's up to you guys. Before I go, I hope everyone's having fun this holiday season. I'll post again next week! Stay warm (or cool, depending on where you live).**

 **Ciao, and Happy Holidays!**


	24. Chapter 24

That was a good question; a question Charlotte didn't know the answer to, even though the red car ( _You can't see blood on a red car,_ thought Henry. _That's gotta mean something_ ) looked familiar to both of them. Charlotte's knees started to buckle and she had to hold on to her bike handles tightly- so tightly her knuckles turned white- so she wouldn't crash her butt on the sidewalk pavement.

"I… I don't know," she choked out. Henry was about to suggest that they turned around now when another car pulled into the driveway.

Well, technically, it was a truck. A mostly-spotless white one with huge wheels. _Where have I seen that truck before?!_ Henry probably would've started ripping his hair out trying to solve the mental mystery when the front door swung open and revealed… Henry's neighbor lady?!

Both kids squinted and exchanged a look. What was Mrs. Hendricks doing at Charlotte's house on a random weeknight?

Henry suddenly remembered something that made his blood run cold. Last summer, a week before Piper's eleventh birthday, Mrs. Hendricks had caught Henry talking to Charlotte via Whiz Watch.

 _"Mrs. Hendricks, put the lamp down!"_

 _Wait. Wrong memory-_

 _"Who's got the lamp now!"_

 _Dang! I swear, sometimes, Ray…_

 _The point is, she saw me, and she must have remembered and HOLY FREAKING SHOOT_ (obviously, Henry's thoughts were not actually using clean words) _SHE MIGHT BE BEHIND EVERY PIECE OF CRAP_ (again) _WE'VE HAD TO FREAKING_ (you get the point) _DEAL WITH OKAY WE HAVEN'T KNOWN ABOUT THIS FOR ALL THAT LONG BUT STILL._

While Henry was thinking this, Charlotte had managed to get off her bike without losing her balance to nervousness and/or teenage hormones and was slowly walking towards Mrs. Hendricks. Henry realized what was going on and ran to catch up with her.

In the meantime, Mrs. Hendricks had opened the back driver's side door of her truck and was pulling something out. A simotiatious thought kept coursing through the two teen's heads; the dirty version of _SHOOT!_

That was when Mrs. Hendricks finally noticed Henry and Charlotte coming towards her. "Oh, hi, kids," she said cheerfully.

"Uh, hey Mrs. Hendricks," choked out Henry, in the same nervous tone from the previously mentioned incident (see above).

"Hi there, Mrs. H. Um… what are you doing here?" Charlotte, who was sure she was going to pass out in fear, having considered the possibility of Henry's neighbor lady be a super villain, asked, trying really hard not to fear sweat. The women gave her a funny look. "Well, surely your mother told you, didn't she?"

 _Dear God._ "Tell me what?" Charlotte's voice wobbled just a bit. Mrs. Hendricks didn't notice, but Henry did and almost yanked his bestie away.

"Oh. I assumed your mother told you about her dinner party."

Suddenly, it came back to Charlotte in a flash. Mrs. Page had told Charlotte about the dinner party yesterday. And then she (Charlotte, not her mom) invited Henry.

Both teen almost smacked their foreheads hard enough to give themselves an American-football-style concussion. The dinner party! DUH!

"Oh, right," said Charlotte with a laugh that was half still nervous, half relieved, "almost forgot!"

Mrs. Hendricks laughed a little. Both kids then realized at the same time (as each other) that the other car belonged to Mr. Doof, one of Mrs. Page's coworkers- he had been over a couple of times for work projects. So unless the Doofster (as Charlotte and her friends secretly called him- not the he would mind the nickname if he found out) was a super villain (which is unlikely; he's- in all honesty- a goody-two shoes. Also, he's afraid of rats. Once, his cat was playing with a fake one and the Doofster almost fainted when Mr. Whiskers brought it to him), there was no reason to worry about the red car behind them.

Charlotte excused herself and Henry to go put her bike in the garage. They then went with Mrs. Hendricks- who was carrying a casserole that smelled delicious- inside and shut the door.

Mrs. Page, who was busily hustling around the kitchen with Mr. Doof (allegedly, he was an excellent cook. Neither Charlotte nor Henry had actually eaten his food. But hey, he can't be any worse of one than Piper), called hi to her daughter and Henry and continued working. Mrs. Hendricks joined the other two adults, leaving Charlotte and Henry to go upstairs.

Once they were up there they sat down on the parallel beds. They sat in (an awkward) silence for a minute before a wicked grin crossed Charlotte's face. "Hey, Hen… remember yesterday morning when I invited you over for tonight?"

Henry gave a her a funny look, slightly weirded out by her tone of voice. "Uh… yeah… why?" His pitch went up a little bit on the last word.

Charlotte held up a science textbook. "I invited you over to study." Henry groaned dramatically. His bestie made a face at him. "Oh, come on, Hen. It's not going to kill you. Now," she flipped to a page that had a sticky tab on it, "what is the- Henry!" The Kid didn't even let her finish the sentence before putting a hand over his heart and pretending to die on the bed. Charlotte laughed at his antics and almost fell off her bed herself.

They quizzed each other for a few minutes before Henry thought of something. "Hey Char, where's your dad?"

Charlotte made a face as she lowered the textbook. "On some business trip, where else?"

Mr. Page was constantly in some foreign country or another state in the U.S. for a company trip. Henry had meant him maybe once or twice. "I don't know where the heck he is this time. Probably some remote place neither of us have ever been to." She raised the textbook again. "Like Alaska."

"Hey, I've been to Alaska!" Henry reminded her, not noticing how loudly he was talking. "Remember? The amazing Kid Danger rescues Captain Man from his time traveling doom!" He sounded like a narrator for a Nickelodeon show commercial.

Charlotte rolled her eyes, but she was smiling.

It was _right after_ Henry said this when there was a knock at the door and Mrs. Page stepped in.

 _Oh crap…_

"Hey, kids! It'll be time to eat I'm a couple minutes." She paused. "What's this about Kid Danger and time travel?"

 _OH CRAP!_

Thank goodness Charlotte already had an excuse prepared for situations like this. "Oh, we were just talking about this Captain Man and Kid Danger fanfiction someone at school was talking about."

Mrs. Page didn't see Henry go from wayway tense to wayway relieved. She just went, "Oh, alright, then," and closed the door before going back downstairs.

Charlotte breathed a sigh of relief, glad her mom had fallen for it. " _That_ was close."

"No kidding. Let's eat!" Charlotte playfully rolled her eyes and led Henry downstairs.

There were no more scares during the actual dinner. Well, as far as the famous superhero duo. (In fact, they were never even mentioned.) The only thing that happened concerning either teen during was when Charlotte's aunt-in-law whispered to her, "Charlotte, sweetie, you didn't tell me you had a boyfriend!" Charlotte choked a little before quietly hissing at her aunt, "HE IS NOT."

This was one of the few times Charlotte was thankful for her dark skin; (she didn't dislike having it, or anything. She just didn't think about her appearance all that often) her face was on fire, but it didn't show much. At least Henry didn't hear the exchange. That wouldn't have been _too_ embarrassing, or anything.

Not.

Later, after everyone had finished eating and the party was breaking up, Henry surrendered to studying for the science test a little more- it (the test) was the next day, anyway.

It was not too long after they started when both teens simultaneously and silently realized something; in Charlotte's house, there were two bedrooms; a master bedroom and a regular one. Not one other. And Mrs. Page trusted Henry; plus, she wasn't going to let him sleep on the couch. The only available bed was the one that Courtney Sham had slept in when she stayed at the Page house.

Get the picture?

You would think that having the other person a couple of feet away would keep away the nightmares, but apparently not.

 **Okay, let's all be honest here; who else forgot about the dinner party? (Pretends to be counting hands…) Yeah, that's about right. I swear I actually completely forgot about it for a while, LOL!**

 **Truthfully, I feel a lot better about this chapter in comparison to the last one. Probably because I got this one done in advance.**

 **Ciao, and Happy New Year!**


	25. Chapter 25

_The water was freezing._

 _Freezing, but not frozen. Little chunks of ice floated around. A blanket of white snow covered every inch of ground around a shivering Henry._

 _Who happened to be stuck in a snowbank, unable to move anything but his head. His nose and ears were blood red, thanks to the cold. His Swellview body was_ not _built for North Pole weather. Everything felt numb. He wasn't sure if he preferred numb or feeling the cold; attack least by being cold he knew everything was still attached to him._

 _But Henry wasn't thinking about the extremely unusual (to say the least) weather conditions. He was thinking about Charlotte._

 _He had watched her jump right into the freezing water, wearing a bright yellow suit that practically glowed against her dark skin. The suit was dotted with little brown ponies that were wearing earmuffs, scarves and other cute winter wear of assorted colors. She really stood out in the snow and gray sky._

 _But that wasn't the point._

 _Charlotte didn't even seem to have been aware of the freezing temperatures, let alone the snow and ice. It had been a full minute (and twenty-three seconds, but who's counting?) and she hadn't resurfaced._

This is not good, _thought Henry._ Worse than not good.

 _As Henry struggled to find his way out of the snow bank, he realized that it had somehow morphed itself into a small jail cell with only the smallest amount of space between the think bars of snow- no,_ ice _. The bars were made of solid ice so thick he could barely see through them._

 _The ice was smoother than glass concrete and cold enough to get a tongue stuck. That was Henry's guess, anyway- not that he was going to try. He wasn't_ that _stupid._

 _Henry didn't hesitate before reaching to grab a laser, or a stun gun, or_ anything _to get him out._

 _Except he wasn't in uniform, nor was he wearing his Whiz Watch for some reason. He didn't have a cell phone or anything in the pockets of his swim trunks. He was on his own._

 _Henry tried using his Hypermotility to shatter the ice, knowing it wasn't malleable (hey, all that studying with Charlotte payed off!) and wouldn't just flatten out._

 _But the ice was stronger than he thought; it took over a dozen hits to even get a crack into a single bar._

 _All of a sudden, Henry slammed his body into the cell bars… and the trap was no more, as if it had been made of soft snow all along. This was way confusing to Henry, but he had other things on his mind._

 _Henry was so startled by his achievement that he landed headfirst in the snow and spent a solid minute pulling himself up and out. (He accidentally ate snow off it- at least it wasn't yellow snow. Well, he didn't see yellow, anyway.)_

 _Finally, he was free._

 _Henry sprinted to the body of water before him and dived in. His eyes were open and freezing, like the rest of him (which had gotten some feeling back- he was all in one piece), but he could still see Charlotte, who was getting closer… and closer…_

 _And smacked right into Henry._

 _Charlotte's body was still and pushed him up to the surface. He desperately tried to drag her to the shore. As Henry practically threw his bestie's body into the snow, praying she was still breathing. She wasn't._

 _He could hear a million voices in his head that were saying things like "You… failed...!" among other phrases with barely audible words. The voices belonged to Ray, Schwoz, Jasper, Charlotte's family, his own family, and his own._

I failed my best friend.

Henry bolted up in the bed, launching a pillow at the window. It bounced off and hit the floor but didn't make any noise. Henry spun his head around and was beyond relieved to see Charlotte. He sighed and got up to retrieve the pillow, but not before he had watched Charlotte for a minute and saw that she was breathing.

Henry knew one thing for sure: he was not going to get back to sleep anytime soon. He grabbed his phone from where it was charging next to him. It was four-oh-three in the morning. Henry opened an app on his phone and did the first thing that came to mind: he went to the official Man Fans website.

Henry scrolled through all the recent posts, occasionally posting a comment using a fake account so no one could trace it back to him. He eventually exited the tab and scrolled through the newest news feeds about him and Captain Man, which were mostly about how they fixed a gas leak underground. (Surprisingly, there wasn't much else.) What the news reporters _didn't_ get right was that it was only Captain Man to seal the leak- they had just assumed that Kid Danger was there, too. Obviously, they didn't know the real whole story. Only the usual people did.

After scrolling through for a while, Henry found an old news report about him. A _very_ old news report:

 _We all know and love Captain Man, our brave superhero crime fighter who is dedicated to protecting our beloved city Swellview._

Henry had a thought: _He's also very dedicated to winning bets._ He shook away the thought and memories and kept reading.

 _But for the first time ever, Captain Man was not working alone. This evening, he was helping rescue people from the Jandy Bridge Disaster- with a little help._

 _Captain Man was called hearing his alleged new sidekick "Kid Danger". Kid Danger showed to be almost as brave and capable as the Captain-_

Henry's first thought when he had read the news article for the first time so long ago was _Almost?!_ Looking back now, he realized how much progress he had made, especially with his new superpower.

 _-while rescuing civilians. As of publishing time, the stats of Kid Danger- age, height, whereabouts- are unclear. After the last few people were rescued, both the superhero and sidekick disappeared._

 _Some people think that Kid Danger might have gone home, perhaps as the person we've seen tonight or otherwise. The question everybody's asking themselves and others: will he return? As of publishing time, reporters are scouting the city, hoping for a chance to interview both Captain Man and Kid Danger- however, neither of them have yet been found. Several pictures of the new addition to Swellview's crime fighting team were taken by spectators._

There was a photo of Henry as Kid Danger that had obviously been photoshopped, since he never stopped helping people to pose for the camera with a tough guy face.

 _As of publishing time, no one has again seen neither Captain Man nor Kid Danger. Everyone wants to meet Swellview's newest favorite young man. Moreover, everyone wants to know who is behind the mask- it could be someone you know!_

Henry glanced over at Charlotte, who was still sound asleep. She had figured out his secret so fast. Then Jasper accidentally found out…. And now some random person who was probably a bad guy might know about _everyone_. Henry looked back at the screen.

 _This article will be updated with more details once they are found._

But the reporters haven't added anything. They still have no idea who Kid Danger could be. Some people think he might not even live in Swellview, as a way to keep his secret identity a secret. Others thought he and Captain Man lived underground.

Well, those people are half-right.

Henry found himself reading the next few articles until he felt like he could get back to sleep. Maybe this time he'd dream about having a ping-pong game with Ray, or of winning a basketball game (even though he hasn't played in forever). At any rate, it would be nice to be able to escape the world for awhile. Some dreamy bacon would be nice, too.

Except as soon as he turned his phone off and plugged it back in, he heard a noise.

 **Yay! Chapter 25!**

 ***Sigh***

 **I have to go back to school tomorrow, which unfortunately means no more days of sitting around writing instead of doing math problems that bore me. On the bright side, I was able to get a few chapters ahead of the story, so those are almost ready :).**

 **I guess that's all I have to say.**

 **Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


	26. Chapter 26

_Charlotte coughed, feeling hotter by the second. And not the kind of hot that people long to be, but the kind where she would give anything for a nice, icy cold bottle of water. Well, almost anything, anyway._

 _It really didn't help that she had Piper hugging her in complete terror. As if being confined in a corner with Stephanie, Sydney, Oliver, Debbie and Tiffany wasn't bad enough, seeing as how their body temperatures were rising. It was already a hot day, but the fact that they were inside a burning church made it even worse._

 _Charlotte begged Piper to let go, but the little girl refused, terrified. Charlotte grumbled a little and unsuccessfully tried to pull Henry's little sister off of her, getting slightly less terrified and slightly more annoyed._

 _Not that the rest of them weren't just as afraid (with the exception of Tiffany). They hadn't exactly planned to go on a school trip and possibly end up burning to death, although Tiffany might possibly just melt. Except when Schwoz's android pulled a hot pan out of the oven it didn't do anything, so a fire probably wouldn't hurt Tiffany. Whatever she was doing with them._

 _At any rate, Charlotte was just praying that someone had called the fire department._ Or, better yet, Kid Danger.

Wait. Did I really just think that?

 _Obviously, Charlotte didn't want Henry to put himself in danger (pun intended). She got nervous every time he went on a mission with Ray, even if it was just stupid Jeff._

 _Debbie coughed a little and choked out, "I hope someone's coming. Charlotte, how much time do we have left?"_

 _Charlotte looked at Debbie like she (Debbie, not Charlotte) was off her rocker. "How the butt am I supposed to know?!" she demanded._

 _"Cause your the smart one!" yelled Stephanie, who was trying to keep her long blond hair away from the flames in fear of catching fire. (Thank you, Lab Safety Unit.)_

 _Charlotte had a really hard time arguing with that. She just coughed some more._

 _"I hope Captain Man shows up," said Piper, tearing her face away from Charlotte long enough to speak._

 _Stephanie produced a rUber band from her pocket and began to throw her hair into a tiny bun. "What about Kid Danger?"_

 _Piper gave the older blond girl a funny look. "What about Kid Danger?"_

 _"What, you don't want him to come rescue you?" Debbie had to know this was not the time to tease Piper about her celebrity crush, but everyone mentally agreed it was better than the thought of burning to death. "We all know you're imagining it."_

 _Piper ignored the comments (wow,_ that's _definitely a first) and buried her face back into Charlotte's stomach._

 _Charlotte wrapped her arms around the child and closed her eyes. Someone should be helping them by now._

 _Just as Charlotte thought this, she heard it. Way off in the distance, she heard the sound of a wooden door breaking down. Someone was coming._

 _Apparently, everyone heard it too. Either that are they heard the voice (or both)._

 _"Hello? Where are you guys?!"_ Henry! _Charlotte felt both relieved and twice as scared. Henry was coming to rescue them! Which meant Henry was in danger now, too._

 _I guess that's why they call him Kid_ Danger _._

 _The students (except Tiffany, who had disappeared) heard Kid Danger's quick footsteps in response to their calls for help, which were accompanied by loud coughing as the smoke built up around them. Finally, after the ten seconds that seemed like ten hours, Kid Danger had reached them._

 _Suddenly, a gloved hand punched through a window none of the kids had known was there. Sydney started gagging, and Oliver began to cry like a baby who just got their lollipop taken away._

 _Kid Danger hustled everybody towards the window so he could get them out. Charlotte shoved Piper toward him so she could get out first. Kid Danger had to practically toss her up since the window was a few feet above them. Debbie, Stephanie, Sydney and Oliver could reach it easier, since they were taller, but it was slightly harder for Kid Danger to lift them up since they also weighed more. Then again, he had been working really hard to get stronger, so it wasn't_ too _difficult._

 _Somehow, Charlotte was last. Kid Danger cupped his hands so she put put her foot in them and get boosted up, which is how everyone else had gotten out. Charlotte gratefully accepted and managed to reach the window. There were a few shards of broken glass that were all too happy to cut her hands, but those injuries were minor. Charlotte had the upper half of her body into fresh air, and could see Captain Man below, ready to catch her. Charlotte figured he was the one who had broken the window open; he was surrounded by her friends and classmates. (Oh, and the teachers.)_

 _The only reason Charlotte wasn't paralyzed with fear was Henry; she knew he wouldn't get out until she did. Charlotte wiggled out of the window and found herself being put down feet-first on the ground by Captain Man, who had proudly managed to catch everyone and safely put them down._

 _Inside the church, Kid Danger took a running start and, miraculously, managed to grab hold of the window sill and pull himself up. He had was just about to get the heck outta there when a flaming support beam broke loose and found a home on his back._

Charlotte emerged from the nightmare with a yelp and tears in her eyes. Henry, already awake, heard her and snapped to attention. Her stage-whispered her name. When he didn't receive an answer, he crept over to her bed and tried again.

This time, without hesitation, Charlotte grabbed her friend and pulled him into an embrace, grateful beyond words that he was okay. Henry was a bit startled, but hugged her right back. What Charlotte didn't know was that Henry was also relieved that she was awake now; just for a different reason. Except he was really hoping she wasn't getting snot onto his pajama shirt.

They stayed like this for a few minutes, Charlotte sobbing and Henry making quiet "shhh" noises and whispering things like "it's okay, you're okay". He had no idea why Charlotte seemed to be having a slight mental breakdown, but there was no stopping him from stopping it.

After a few more minutes, Charlotte had finally calmed down. But she didn't want Henry to leave her side. Ever.

"Charlotte?" Henry whispered. "Do you want me to turn a light on?"

Charlotte choked out a quiet "no" that was barely audible. The lack of light meant nothing was on fire. Plus, she didn't want Henry to see her like this.

Henry quietly told Charlotte to scoot over and climbed onto the bed. She hugged him for a few minutes, trying not to burst into tears again.

Eventually, she lied back down but wouldn't let go of Henry. So he lied down with her, barely managing to not fall of the bed- it was really only supposed to hold one person.

Right before they both fell asleep, Henry whispered something to Charlotte that she didn't quite catch.

 **I'm making a reference to two books in this chapter; can anybody guess what they are? Just for fun, I'll plan to give you the answer next week. Also, can anyone guess what Henry said to Charlotte? See if you can get it correct in a review!**

 **Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


	27. Chapter 27

**So in the last chapter I promised I'd tell you what books I referenced for Charlotte's nightmare; I put them at the bottom (even though I just checked and no one actually guessed…) . Anyway, here's the new chapter!**

It's a good thing both teens had automatic alarms on their phones for waking up, or Mrs. Page definitely would've come to wake them up herself and find both of them in the same bed.

Not that much happened; both Henry and Charlotte didn't have anymore nightmares, or any dreams at all, actually. The next thing they knew, a really annoying sound and a catchy pop song was waking them up. (Henry later explained to Charlotte on the way to school that he used a really bothersome tone to motivate him to get out of bed so he could turn it off.)

Henry took his bag to the guest bathroom so he could get dressed and stuff while Charlotte got ready (she had her own bathroom, which was nice, even though she normally wouldn't have to share with anyone anyway). When they met again, Henry had thrown on clothes nearly identical to what he had on yesterday, but in different colors. Charlotte's shirt ended up being the same color scheme. (Seriously, it was a total accident. Or she stared into her closet for a full minute and went with her gut instinct, whichever came first).

Mrs. Page had made pancakes for breakfast (which were a lot better than Mrs. Hart's, Henry couldn't help but notice), which the kids ate before they finished getting ready for school. Then, well, they walked to school.

Overall, it wasn't the most energetic of mornings. The most exciting thing to happen was when Henry was squeezing his toothpaste tube and remembered Jasper's "life-hack", which didn't make him _too_ nauseous, or anything. _Not._

And then it was lunchtime.

Henry, Charlotte and Jasper (he didn't walk with his friends to school because his phone died as a result of not being plugged in and his alarms didn't go off- Henry and Charlotte used the spare key that was under the mat to get in and find him still asleep. They forgot about sticking together and just agreed to just leave Jasper and he'd walk on his own. Don't tell anybody, okay? Thanks) had just stepped into the cafeteria when Henry felt his butt vibrating.

Well, technically, it was his Pear Phone buzzing in his back pocket, but "butt vibrating" sounds funnier.

Swellview Junior High had a strict No-Cell-Phones policy during class, but didn't care if students were texting or whatever during their lunch period. Truthfully, passing period wasn't over yet, but when the three teens saw the caller I.D., they knew they had to answer. (Not that the teachers would care.)

"Ray?" Henry was trying really hard to be quiet so no one would overhear, but it was going to be tough, given all the noise around him. Charlotte and Jasper kept a lookout for him. "Is everything alright?"

"Uh, not exactly, Kid."

"Holy- does it have something to do with- with-"

"We don't know. Look, there's an emergency at some music store. Uh, what's it- SCHWOZ, WHAT'S THE NAME OF THE STORE WE'RE GOING TO?!" Henry winced and held the phone away from his ear, startled by the shouting. He could hear Schwoz in the background. "Ray, I'm not even seven feet away from you!"

"JUST ANSWER THE QUESTION!"

"Sheesh! It's Beat Bar Beat Instrumental. Quit shouting at me!"

"There's an emergency at Beat Bar Beat Instrumental," said Ray to Henry, in a normal volume. "We're about to drive by your school. Could you sneak out?"

"Yeah, just give me a minute. I need to ditch the cafeteria monitors." Henry glanced around, hoping by some miracle they were all off duty. No such luck. (In fact, there was an extra one.) "I'll be out in a second."

Henry hung up and jammed the phone back into his pocket. His bestie's looked at him expectantly. "I gotta go, guys. Slight emergency. I'll fill you in later-" Henry didn't actually been informed what exactly was going on, which meant he needed to be filled in first "-but if anyone asks, I'm in tutorials." There was no way anyone would not believe that lie. Henry's grades weren't with the mermaids (below C level- get it?), but they weren't excellent, either. "Listen," he grabbed his gumball tube from his backpack and quickly jammed it into his pocket, "keep an eye on the time and text me when lunch is almost over. And if I don't make it back," he shoved his backpack under the table next to Charlotte's, "please, please, please buy me some chips or something I can eat later. See ya!" He took off into the boy's room.

Jasper excitedly waved to him. Charlotte told him to tone it down or someone was gonna see while she prayed for Henry's safety.

…

Henry knew of a little window in the boy's room next to the cafeteria where he could sneak out. The only thing that had ever bugged him about this was getting caught.

Which is why a few days after he meant Schwoz, Henry told him about his worries, hoping the man had some sort of solution. And he did: anytime Henry had to sneak out of school, Schwoz would hack in to the security system and temporarily disable the cameras when the Kid left and returned. The footage was only accessed when something suspicious needed to be looked at, which didn't happen very often. So the secret stayed safe.

Anyway, Henry saw the Man Van parked across from where he had climbed on top of the toilet. Praying nobody would walk in, he trusted that Schwoz had already taken care of the cameras and practically fell out the window. He sprinted as fast as he could and climbed into the back of the Man Van out of breath.

"Hey, Kid! Pop a gumball, we'll be there soon." Henry nodded and transformed into his Kid Danger self as Captain Man instructed before grabbing a bottle of water from the half-empty package Ray kept in the back.

"So what's going on?" asked Henry once he had caught his breath.

"We got a call from Beat Bar Beat Instrumental saying that there was a loud beeping. We listened to it and it sounded suspiciously like a bomb. Which means we need to go find it _now_."

"So you decided to drag me into this after the _last_ time I was in a building with a bomb?" Captain Man mentally winced, remembering how Henry might've gotten killed that day. Ray had felt really guilty about it and was trying to forget. "Relax," he said, mostly talking to himself. "You have a new superpower, remember? It'll be fine."

Henry leaned back and peered out the window; they all had curtains with the Captain Man logo on them so no one could see in. And it's a good thing, too, because Henry hadn't actually thought about windows before transforming. _That_ could've been disastrous.

Wayway disastrous.

"Ray, how long is this going to take?" asked Kid Danger. Lunch period just started, but wasn't going to last forever.

Captain Man looked at his sidekick with a puzzled expression (just under half of which wasn't visible, because of the mask). "I can tell you it'll take about seven minutes to drive there. Also; um, how should I know and why?"

"Because I snuck out during lunch, and if I don't get back to class on time I'll get marked absent and they'll call my parents. It's not like I can tell them I skipped school to help you out. _And_ I have a science test later today. I told Charlotte and Jasper to text me when lunch was almost over, but I'm still worried."

"Um, okay- try telling them you were in the nurse with a headache or something and it's a mistake."

"The nurse has a sign-in sheet, and they might check."

Captain Man shrugged. "I'm sorry, Kid. We'll come up with something later if we need to. And at least you didn't have to leave on a bathroom pass." Henry giggled, and Ray smiled for a second. "For now, let's just focus on the mission."

"Right…" Kid Danger turned back to the window, watching parts of Swellview, like Glass From The Past and Specs And The City, whiz by.

When they finally pulled up to Beat Bar Beat Instrumental, Kid Danger forgot his worried about missing school and jumped out of the Man Van, Captain Man on his heels. It was time to focus; this wasn't a dream, it was real life. Charlotte was still safely at the school, and he was just going to get in and get out.

That was the plan, anyway. And if being Kid Danger has taught Henry anything, it's that things don't always go according to plan.

 **So, as mentioned in the last chapter I made a reference to two different books; here are the answers!**

 ***The Outsiders and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire***

 **Also, I'm sorry, I wanted to get this posted earlier in the day, but my school had a preformance and I was out for like... I dunno, a long time.**

 **Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


	28. Chapter 28

"Hi, we're here!" Kid Danger called.

"Especially me!" Captain Man added over the beeping.

Kid Danger rolled his eyes. His boss had _such_ a huge ego.

The women they were addressing was standing next to the counter, terrified. The superhero and sidekick could see this as she whirled around to face them. "Oh, Kid Danger! And Captain Man! Thank heavens you're here!" She really did look thankful. Well, half thankful and half scared out of her mind. Anyone who even glanced at her chocolate brown eyes could see it.

Before they had arrived, Captain Man told his sidekick that the frantic women on the phone had told _him_ that her name was Anna. Captain Man figured this was the same women, since no one else was around and the voice sounded the same. Anna had yellow-blond hair that was in a bun on the back of the top of her head. Judging from the bun's size, her hair was probably a couple feet long when it was down. She was wearing a purple short-sleeved sweater that had different shades all over it and blue jeans with purple sneakers. She had on a headband that matched the shoes. She didn't look more than twenty-five at the most.

 _Charlotte,_ thought Henry _, would love that outfit._

 _C'mon, dude. Let's get this over with._ He took a step towards Anna.

"M'am, what exactly is going on?"

"Well, I- I was sitting at the counter, reading, when all of a sudden I thought I heard a door slam. I picked up my phone to call you and then this beeping started. I didn't want to make anything happen, but I- I took a few steps to different sides and I think it's coming from that section." Anna pointed to a separate room where they could see a few grand pianos.

Kid Danger glanced at the, before turning back to Anna. "M'am, we'll take care of it. Is there anyone else in here?" Anna shook her head no. "Okay. If I were you, I'd step outside and wait. Also," he took a breath, "if you hear something that sounds like an... _explosion_ ," he made a little gesture with his hands on the word _explosion_ , "call 9-1-1 _immediately_. Alright?" Anna nodded as she grabbed her cell phone from where it was sitting on the counter and quickly exited the store.

Captain Man and Kid Danger ran to the piano section of the store. Sure enough, the beeping got about three times louder.

The pair immediately started looking around for a bomb (or whatever they could find). They searched under and in piano branches, under pianos, and in the pianos (those were actually the only places anything could be hidden. Unless the bomb was invisible. That definitely would've made the job a whole lot harder). The last place they checked was inside the middle piano. And guess what?

There it was.

Kid Danger called "Hey!" to Captain Man and showed his boss what he found. It was a C-3 disrupter. Not as bad as, say, a C-5, but worse than a C-1.

"How do we shut this thing off?"

"Here, give it. Schwoz taught me after that one C-5 almost killed you."

"Just _had_ to bring that up again, didn't you?" Not only did almost getting blown up really hurt, it was undeniably _embarrassing_.

"Shut your trap, I'm busy!"

Kid Danger rolled his eyes. Captain Man played with the wires for a moment before the beeping stopped. They both stared at it for a moment before the man spoke again. "Alright. Let's take this back to the Man Cave and have Schwoz take it apart."

His sidekick thought of something. "But what if that's exactly what they want?!"

Captain Man realized what Kid Danger was suggesting and almost dropped the C-3. "Oh, shoot… You may be right, Kid. But what should we do with it, then? We can't just leave it here."

Neither of them could come up with any kind of solution. Kid Danger looked behind him to make sure no one was there before whispering, "Captain Man, does Schwoz have, like, and explosive-proof bag or something?!"

"Um, no. Will a metal crate work?" Captain Man didn't bother whispering, but Kid Danger continued to do so.

"I don't know, but that's our only option for now. Let's go, before the bell rings back at school."

"Right."

Anna was wayway grateful to Captain Man and Kid Danger; she must have thanked them a million times. Kid Danger was always pleased to do his work, but they needed to leave. The pair of superheroes put the C-3 into a metal crate Ray kept in the Man Van; it fit, but barley. The drove off

Once he was out of uniform, Henry texted his friends:

 _Henry: Hey guys im otw bak._

 _Charlotte: Good timing. We were going to text you in five minutes; you have fifteen to get back here._

 _Henry: K_

The last text was a mile long.

 _Jasper: So How'd It Go? Did Anything Blow Up? What EXACTLY Happened? Were There Any Cute Chicks There? You ARE Alive, Right? I Guess You Must Be. Can I Get A Selfie With You Guys Before You Have To Change Back? Did-_

Henry stopped reading Jasper's questions. He loved the guy, but _geesh_.

It dawned on Henry right then that he and Ray used real names over the phone and in the Man Van. _Wait-_

"Kid? You alright?" Ray- who was also looking normal once again- happened to look over at his Henry just as he sat up so fast he almost hit his head on the ceiling.

"Dude," he whispered frantically. "What if… van…" Henry pointed forwards and then to his ears.

Ray probably wouldn't have understood on any other day, but he was able to figure it out. "If you're trying to suggest that the Man Van is bugged- or I guess in our case it would be 'rodented' whether that's a real word or not- then relax. I did a quick scan whole we were driving." Ray pulled out a wand-like thingy from behind him and showed it to Henry, who immediately sighed with relief and leaned back, closing his eyes.

Ray almost sighed himself. It was all too much for anyone to handle.

As soon as they arrived across the street, Schwoz told Henry that the cameras were disabled and he was good to go. The Kid didn't hesitate before taking a running start.

Henry, alleluia, was able to grab hold of the window, which, thankfully, was still unlocked. He slid in and climbed down as quietly as he had slipped out. Well, almost; he accidentally flushed the toilet as he was coming down. Fortunately, no one else was in there to see nor hear him. Henry was glad for that; also that he didn't flush the defective toilet that had an _Out of Order_ sign somebody kept stealing and returning with swear words all over it.

For the few minutes of lunch that remained (four minutes and fifty-nine seconds, to be exact), Henry gobbled down two bags of chips while Jasper begged to hear what happened. Charlotte told him (Jasper) to let Henry eat his food and that he'd tell the story on the way to work.

 _Way to volunteer me, Charlotte._

The rest of the school day was uneventful, except for the part where Henry was pretty sure he didn't bomb his science test. Afterwards, Charlotte nagged him for a solid five minutes before he finally admitted that the studying paid off. Jasper just watched them and laughed.

Henry told the story of what went down on the way to Junk N' Stuff, which would have been fun except for Jasper interrupting every two minutes with a question, comment or complaint. (" _Can I see the bomb?... That's awesome!... Aw, I wish I could've been there!"_ )

 _At least,_ thought Henry, _he isn't trash-talking Kid Danger anymore._ Henry could never forget how Jasper would brag about how he'd make a much better sidekick to Captain Man than (cue the snort) Kid Danger. Not that he was fooling anyone, especially Henry (and everyone else who knew Jasper). Jasper had actually felt really bad about it once he found out who Kid Danger really was; he really didn't like when it was brought up.

The telling of the story lasted until the three teens were exactly twenty-three and a half steps away from Junk N' Stuff. They exchanged worried looks as they entered the store. While Jasper got behind the counter with his homework, Charlotte and Henry stepped into the elevator. They took a deep breath before popping a special gumball and hitting the DOWN button. They weren't sure what to expect.

 **Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed the new chapter :).**

 **And, also, real quick, does anyone else who writes on doc manager (the copy-and-paste option) ever see that the keyboard tries to make the first two letters of the word capitalized sometimes? It kept doing things like trying to make _Any_ into _ANy_ and then autocorrect tries to tell me it's spelled Ny. Does that happen to anyone else? It only seems to do this when I write on my iPad- just wanted to see.**

 **Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


	29. Chapter 29

In spite of the fact that they knew what would happen, Henry and Charlotte were both still shocked at what the gumballs did. Today, Charlotte's fake hair had been pulled into a high ponytail that used at least twenty hair ties that were ordered in the colors of the rainbow (the last one was purple, which meant the number of hair ties was divisible by six. Not that it really mattered too much). She found herself wearing a soft yellow knee-length long-sleeved dress with matching boots that reached her knees, along with nude-colored tights. Other than the change of clothes and hairstyle, she didn't look any different that yesterday.

Henry's fake hair was still half-braided dreadlocks, but they had been pulled to the sides and braided to make a pair of pig tails that were so tightly knotted together that the braids only reached the end of his rib cage. He had on navy blue slacks and a matching t-shirt, but the same shoes and socks he wore yesterday.

Even though the boy in front of her looked nothing like him, Charlotte knew deep down in her heart that he was still Henry. She still wanted to pull him into a hug until everything going on with the fake-looks gum and mystery villain has all blown over.

Except that probably wasn't going to happen without some fighting. Or something that no one really wanted to think about.

As the elevator door opened, the two teens could see Ray, who was on the couch playing Octopie, Schwoz, who was finishing up picking apart the C-3 disrupter at a wheeled lab table nearby, and Gooch, who was asleep next to Ray, with a hand supporting his head. (Bork was somewhere training with a punching bag.) It seemed like all Gooch ever did lately was sleep. Maybe he was too stressed out to get good rest during the night. Henry knew how _that_ felt; it really sucked being so tired all the time.

Ray looked over and almost ran to grab a weapon- whatever he could get his hands on- before realizing that the strange kids who just stepped out of the elevator into the Man Cave were Henry (also known as Kid Danger) and Charlotte (also known as- well, she didn't really have a superhero identity- although, she did fill in for Henry that one time). They exchanged hellos as Ray stood up, and the pair of teens could see that he had on a loud orange sweater and jeans that matched. So did his shoes and socks. It really didn't match his fake light blue hair, which had been pulled back into a sloppy ponytail. No one could see what Schwoz had on under the lab coat he was wearing (the same thing Ray had on, except the color was neon pink. Frankly, it's looked like a little kid tried to make his clothes match his hair and failed. Gooch had on a matching set as well, but it was a medium purple and his hair looks the same from yesterday. In all honesty, these gumballs had no fashion sense whatsoever), but no one really cared. The first thing Henry asked about (he barely beat Charlotte to it) was the C-3 disrupter.

Schwoz just shook his head. "I looked at everything, but it's just a normal C-3. No spyvare or anyting. Vich means this wasn't set by our moostory vill-e-on. Or they are just trying to throw us a curveboo."

"Curve _ball_ , Schwoz." Ray corrected him.

"Curve-baaaaaaooooooool." Schwoz repeatedly attempted to say it right as he put all the parts of the C-3 into a plastic box for storage.

Meanwhile, Ray made Gooch go to his room so he could sleep in an actual bed; Charlotte found her place behind the monitors and started working; Schwoz took his portable lab and the box into the secret room and tried to find a place to put them (there was way too much stuff down there, most of which they didn't even need and/or know they [still] had).

She scrolled through numerous villains, suspects, even normal people in attempt to figure out who was behind everything. Eventually Ray and Henry joined her and pretty soon they were all trying to make guesses. Soon enough, it was almost time for the kids to go home. They had talked about a few people they didn't think were involved, but Henry finally just blurted, "You guys, I don't think we should rule anyone out until we're one-hundred percent sure we can't implicate them."

"Ooh, big word," said Charlotte playfully.

Henry made a face at her. "Very funny. But I'm serious. Heck, for all we know, every villain in Swellview could be involved in this." He nervously ran a hand through his hair. Charlotte couldn't help but find it cute…

 _Anyway!_ "I think Henry's right- we shouldn't rule out someone until we have crystal-clear proof they aren't involved. But here's my theory," she took a breath in, "which is that we don't know this person yet." Henry and Ray exchanged looks. "None of the villains we've ever faced have ever spied on us or anything like this, except for Dr. Minyak that one time, and we erased his memory so he couldn't try again." Henry nodded in agreement and added, "I think we should research, like, bad guys from different cities, like Bordertown and those places. Maybe we could find some way to track 'em down. Like with the Jolly Beetles and Japanese fish flakes." He glanced down at Charlotte, knowing she couldn't help but feel proud of her achievement from way back then. Had she not done her work, who knows what would've happened to Ray and Henry? In fact, Charlotte has been an enormous help to them ever since she got the job; they would be in trouble without her. Everyone knew it.

Ray pushed a couple of buttons, and they were meant with a long list of super villains and bad guys with a criminal record. (In fact, every screen was covered in text and there were still multiple pages to go.) A lot of them were in trouble for petty crimes (like not wearing a hairnet- Henry was so tempted to bring the incident up, but decided not to), and there were a few (like Henry, Charlotte and Jasper) who basically had their names on that long list for no reason.

Unfortunately, the only progress they made before quitting time was ruling out themselves, since they all knew they could trust each other. Ray really, really wanted to not rule out Jasper, just to be mean, but refrained from doing so.

Henry and Charlotte made sure they had all their stuff (which was really just their backpacks) and soon found themselves stepping out of the elevator looking just like they did when they left Charlotte's house this morning. They were glad to look normal again.

Except every bit of good feeling (not that there was much of it) was shattered when Henry and Charlotte saw Jasper in front of the counter.

 **Yeah. Okay. My doc manager wouldn't work earlier, but it's working now, so... yeah. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

 **Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


	30. Chapter 30

When Henry and Charlotte stepped out of the elevator, they didn't expect anything to be wrong. There was really no telling what the gang would encounter next, which means that their ease- that their guards had been let down- was a mistake. Because the shock of realizing that something was amiss with Jasper was even worse than it would've been.

They certainly didn't expect to find Jasper staring at something, terrified, like he had been given the leading role in a horror movie and Junk N' Stuff was the set. Plus, he was sweating more than usual. _Way_ more than usual- it looked like he ditched work to go swimming.

Upon their discovery, Henry and Charlotte rushed over without hesitation to their friend. "Jasper?" cried Henry. "Hey, buddy-" he shook him a little "-snap out of it!"

Jasper finally made some sort of noise that sounded like a combination of a burp, a gurgle and a quiet scream. He seemed to be trying to tell them something, but the guy was acting like he was having a stroke or some other medical term Henry didn't understand. Jasper finally raised his arm and pointed.

The other two teens followed his gaze and pointer finger and found themselves staring at a camera.

Well, it _was_ a camera, anyway. Half of it was in pieces that were scattered across a square foot of the floor next to him, but the other half seemed intact.

Henry gasped, and Charlotte seemed ready to faint. Jasper was finally able to have some control over his body and reached out to grab something, which ended up being the hand of Henry, who was already occupied trying to keep Charlotte from falling over. Jasper finally snapped out of his daze (mostly) and helped out, trying to tell them what happened as he did.

"I- I- I was just finished helping a customer, a- and- and in noticed so- something- Charlotte, gimme you arm, there- and I went and looked at it- and-and it had a blinking light and I realized it was a ca-ca-ca-ca-ca-camera, so I- I-"

"You freaked out and killed it?" Henry knew that Jasper wasn't able to finish his sentence, so he helped out.

Jasper nodded and looked at Charlotte, who was leaning against the counter in the fetal position. He wasn't sure, but it sounded like she was crying; this shocked him.

Henry knelt down next to her. "Jasper, call everyone up here, and do it quick. We've got an emergency."

…

Ray jumped out of his skin when the monitors started flashing that there was an incoming audio call from Junk N' Stuff. A million different sceneries were running through his head. Needless to say, every single one of them was like a quick little nightmare, even though he was awake. He answered the call with a shaky "Hello?"

"Hey, we need you guys up here. Like, _now_." Ray could tell that not only was it Jasper talking, he was obviously trying (and mostly failing) to stay calm.

"Holy... all-of-us-or-who-do-you-need?!" Ray said in a rush. Jasper said to hold on for a second and said something to Henry. "Just you and, um… the inventor," answered Jasper, remembering not to use any names.

Ray was dying to ask what the butt was going on, but just told Jasper that'll they'd be right there. He ran to the secret door and opened it wide.

"SCHWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOZ!"

Schwoz actually happened to be standing right next to said secret door, holding the pink plastic box of parts. He was so startled he actually threw it at Ray. The lid popped right off, scattering parts all over the floor. A little bolt actually found a home in Ray's hair.

"OWWWWW! I'm okay! Wa- Schwoz, you _still_ haven't found a place for the pieces?!"

"Dude, names!" Schwoz hissed. "And gimme a break! We have way to much junky pieces of junk down here taking up space! And my inventions."

"You mean _like_ your inventions?!" Schwoz actually looked really hurt. Ray sighed and reminded himself to hurry up. "C'mon, the kids need us upstairs. I don't know why, but it seems urgent. Let's go." Schwoz nodded and they ran (well, Ray ran. Schwoz running looked more like a penguin trying to win a track race) to the elevator, blowing bubbles as it took them upstairs.

…

"We're here! What's the- oh my god…" Ray stopped mid sentence because he saw the busted camera as well as all three kids huddled together behind the counter like they were trying to keep warm. In reality, they were clearly scared out of their minds. Ray couldn't help but notice that Charlotte looked like she had been crying, but he didn't pay much attention to that; it was a minor detail.

Ray stared at the camera for a second before he just started spitting out all sorts of cuss words (a few of which he made up right there on the spot). He commanded Schwoz to examine it right then and there before whirling around toward his young employees.

"Who was just here?! Anything suspicious about them?" Ray looked directly at Jasper, since he's the one who's been up here the whole time.

Jasper actually looked afraid to answer. "Uh, uh, uh there was as old lady, a couple of kids from school, a little girl, a pizza face, a really-"

Ray cut him off. "Wait, a little girl?! Wa- wa what did she look like."

"Uh…" Jasper seemed to forget everything entirely for a second. "She was, um, short, and Caucasian with, uh, really long brown hair. She was returning a DK statue. Why-"

"That girl!" The three teens (and Schwoz, who was listening even though he was supposed to be doing his examination) looked TOTALLY confused. Ray realized why and began to talk kind of fast. "Oh, man, I never told you guys. Um, okay, so yesterday after you guys left the second time, this little girl comes in, and she spends like twenty minutes here before leaving with that and cruuuuuud I meant to check the security monitors because she looked so young and no one was with her but I forgot to I don't see how a little girl could be involved but…" Ray's voice trailed off. "Oh, yeah, she also spent a few minutes in the bathrooms, but come to think of it, I never even heard a toilet flush or anything. Charlotte and Henry, go look around them and see if you can find anything. Jasper, tell me again what you know about this kid."

While Jasper told Ray everything he knew (which wasn't anymore than the boss himself did), Charlotte ran to the lady's room and Henry to the men's. After a few minutes, both of them were getting ready to walk out and say they found nothing when they simultaneously discovered a lipstick camera and microphone hidden in the vents. They ran out (and literally ran into each other upon meeting in the little hallway) to show Ray what they had found.

Needless to say, they weren't looking forward to his reaction.

 **Chapter 30!**

 **Hey, just out of curiosity; I kept trying to log in on my iPad but it wouldn't work- I finally just used my phone. Did this happen to anyone else?**

 **One more thing: I realized that I forgot to fix the words that were supposed to be italicized in Chapter 29, so I went back and fixed that right before I posted this- just letting you guys know.**

 **Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


	31. Chapter 31

Every person in the world who had ever meant Ray and known him long enough wouldn't hesitate to say that he had anger issues. Truthfully, he's seemed meaner than he used to be ever since Jasper started working at Junk N' Stuff. Sometimes, he wasn't. Other times, it was spit city from all the yelling.

Henry, Charlotte, Jasper and Schwoz were all absolutely, positively certain that their boss would completely explode when he saw the spyware (which would've been ironic, given he had _stopped_ an explosion from happening earlier in the day). But, and this was a surprise (understatement of the year), Ray just stared at the small pieces for a moment before bursting into tears.

Before long, Charlotte started to cry again, then Jasper, then Schwoz, and even Henry broke down and started sniffling. The little get together to get to the bottom of the spyware's presence had turned into a cry-fest.

They stood there bawling for about half an hour before Ray choked out a few instructions. "Schwoz, takes everything down- here-" Ray picked up an astronaut's helmet full of red plastic eggs and dumped out the eggs before handing it to the inventor "-take this to put the stuff in." Schwoz nodded and began throwing the pieces in. Ray turned to the kids. "And you three-" he stopped short, unsure what to say. "Um… Why don't you… Oh, I don't know. Just… go downstairs and take a stroll through the security camera footage from yesterday after you guys left. Keep an eye out for that... girl or anything else that seems… unusual." The three teens nodded and shuffled over to the elevator, blowing a bubble before going down.

Henry and Charlotte hadn't seen Fake Jasper today; the only difference between yesterday's fake outfit and the one he was wearing now was that everything was turquoise camouflage. Since his friends were staring at him, Jasper reached out and pushed the DOWN button.

As the floor gave out, Jasper cried out and grabbed the nearest arm, which just happened to be Charlotte's. She and Henry might be used to the rough ride, but Jasper certainly wasn't. He squeezed Charlotte's arm so tightly she had to shake it off halfway down the ride so he wouldn't take away all the feeling in it.

The three teens sprinted to the monitors. Charlotte nabbed the chair, so Henry and Jasper stood behind her. Charlotte located the Junk N' Stuff security tapes and clicked OPEN.

Ray had said the girl had come after they left, so Charlotte scrolled from the beginning of the day to where they were watching themselves walk out the door. They see Ray playing something on his phone and slowly scroll. After a while, his head snaps up.

And then it happens.

"Wa- snowstorm?!" Henry stared at the screen in complete disbelief. "Did the cameras die, or something?!"

"SNOW?!" Jasper, not realizing what Henry meant by "snowstorm", started jumping up and down. "I love snow! It never even snows here- let's go outside!"

Henry and Charlotte looked at Jasper like he had lost his mind. "Jasper," said Charlotte before the pause got too long. "Snowstorm on a TV or whatever means something's wrong. You know, blizzard on screen. Not winter weather. Look at the monitor. See how it looks like a camera in the middle of Nebraska?"

Jasper stared for a moment before it hit him. "Oh…" he muttered, disappointed. Henry put a hand and his shoulder and turned back to the screen. "Charlotte, try moving forward. Maybe they'll come back."

"Got it." Charlotte clicked a few times and the feed was back.

"Okay, Ray's back. But where's the girl?" Henry ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. They scrolled for about five minutes before the blizzard returned. Later, it disappeared again.

"Hold on, Ray's moving." Charlotte pointed to the screen. They watched Ray walk out for a moment, then come back in. Nothing else interesting happened for the whole tape.

It was Jasper's idea to check the outdoor cameras. (Henry and Charlotte couldn't help but be proud of him. Jasper was kind of dumb a lot of the time, but he had his moments. They were also proud that he and destroyed the camera upstairs, but they didn't have time to feel anything but fear right then.)

So they did. The same thing happened, but it happened twice. So did the bathroom cams, except it only happened once each. (Yes, the boy's room too.)

That's when Charlotte thought of something. A few clicks confirmed her suspicions; rather than all at the same time, the blizzards were timed in such a way that someone- someone with a device that could disable security stuff- could be traveling at the same time that they stopped. Charlotte was just about to call upstairs to get Ray and Schwoz to come down when the elevator came down, and there they were, looking like complete strangers.

The three teens showed and told the two adults what they discovered and figured out. Ray stroked his chin for a solid minute before saying, "Well, either there's something wrong with these cameras, or that little girl had some way to disable them while she was around. But we don't know, how she did it, why she's doing it, if she's doing it at all, or who the butt she even is!" Ray's patience was wearing thin. "Check from when Jasper was up there and she came in."

They did, but instead of seeing her they got the same results. Ray kicked Charlotte out of the chair and went to the Internet so he could search for this little girl. But one thing was missing…

"Jasper, are you _absolutely positive_ that you didn't get the girl's name?"

Jasper nodded, afraid he was making Ray mad. "Yes, I am sure I did not. I think…" he added in a whisper.

Ray, Schwoz and Charlotte managed to hack into the school districts long of past and present students and must have gone through a million different photos and files. Nothing whatsoever about that kid.

"Maybe she's homeschooled," suggested Henry, who had been banished to the couch with Jasper since they were "pretty useless when it comes to computers", as Ray put it. "Try looking in city files."

They did so, but found nothing. Them they looked through state files. Not a trace of Hope Jones (not that they knew her name-just what she looked like). Jasper looked at the time and mentioned that they needed to get home just as Ray wanted to open national files.

Everyone expected Ray to demand them to stay in the Man Cave, but much to their surprise, he just went, "Yeah, sure. Stay safe, kids."

 _Um… okay?!_ Charlotte, Henry and Jasper exchanged looks before heading back upstairs. They blew a bubble and looked normal again by the time they were in Junk N' Stuff. Without a word, they grabbed their backpacks from the store and began the walk home.

 **Okay, so I googled image results for "snowstorm on screen" but couldn't find any- now I'm not sure if that's really a thing or if someone I know made it up.** **Sorry if it confused anyone.**

 **Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


	32. Chapter 32

**Musiqueismyjam1041: Yes, the girl's name is Hope Jones; Henry and the others just don't know that.**

 **Survivorsdogs123: Um... right now. I'm sorry, I tried to PM you when I saw your review but it wouldn't work. I add a new chapter to the story every Sunday.**

 **Picasso Penguin: I saw your review for Chapter 31, but I'm not sure what that means...**

"Maybe we can take items that she looked at and scan them for fingerprints."

"I guess that's not a _bad_ idea, but other people might have touched those items, too, and it's not like we told Jasper to keep a log of who exactly touched what junk."

"'N Stuff."

Ray rolled his eyes playfully at Schwoz's little pun. "What do you guys think?" asked Ray, looking across the store at Gooch and Bork.

Gooch and Bork had been informed about the newest addition to the situation right after Henry, Charlotte and Jasper left. Bork cried at little, but Gooch was somehow able to keep a straight face- no one knew how, but no one questioned it. Maybe he was just too tired.

Bork just grunted in response to Ray's question. Specifically, it was an "I guess" grunt, not a "no way" or "totally!" grunt. Spend enough time with the guy, and you'll understand his grunts like they were actual words.

Gooch shrugged. "We could do that- whatever you said it was the little girl had purchased, that will surely still have her fingerprints as well as Jasper's." Ray nodded and took a few steps over so he could pick up the Donkey Kong ( _Oh it is on like Donkey Kong! Wait… What movie is that from again?_ Ray wondered) figure with his sleeve over his hand. He then passed it to Schwoz, who for some reason carried around gloves in his pocket and had put them on. The little man walked to the back and into the elevator down to the Man Cave.

That was when Gooch thought of something. "Ray, what if we're not the only targets?"

Ray gave him a funny look. "Um, what is that supposed to mean, 'cause I'm not getting it."

"I mean, what if someone's been planting cameras all over the city? Maybe someone has been onto them and tipped off the cops. In fact," Gooch straightened up, seeming more awake all of a sudden, "why don't we call the police ourselves? We can pretend to be citizens who noticed a hidden camera somewhere where there shouldn't be- but we can't remember where exactly. That way, people will keep an eye out for someone doing suspicious things."

Ray smiled. "Great idea, Gooch. Hey," he snapped his fingers "I've got an idea of my own! Schwoz had this headband that can change your voice into someone else's, and this little button that alters yours. We can ask him to send one up here." Gooch and Bork nodded in agreement.

Which is exactly what they did. Schwoz wanted them to tell him why, but Ray didn't want to explain their plan. He had to promise to explain later before he got the inventor to say yes. Not two minutes later, Ray was wearing the little button that was set to make him sound like a girl who was just hitting puberty (it was a very specific button). He pulled out his phone and dialed the cops.

"9-1-1, what is your emergency?"

"Hello, my, er, boyfriend and I-" across, the room, Gooch and Bork started chuckling, and Ray gave him a you-better-be-quiet-now look "-were taking a walk earlier and noticed that there was a hidden camera in, um, a bush or something. I, er, don't remember exactly where but it looked awfully out of place…"

The man- it was a man's voice on the other end- seemed to buy it. "Okay, we'll have our squad keep an eye out for them, and we can send the information to the news. Would you like to remain anonymous?"

"Oh, yes. Definitely." Ray winced and hoped the cop didn't notice the eagerness in his little girl voice.

"Got it. Thank you for calling."

"Yeah, totally…'Kay bye!" Ray quickly hung up the phone. _Man, I should be a voice actor! Oh, wait..._

Gooch and Bork started laughing their heads off. "Guys, it's not- doh!" Ray took off the button. "Guys, come on!" said Ray in his normal voice. Gooch and Bork just laughed harder. Grumpy, Ray rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

…

By the time they got to the Page house, Henry and Charlotte were still cracking up. They had been telling funny stories with Jasper on the way home in effort to ease the tension of… well, everything, really. They had been nervous to let Jasper go into his house alone, though, so they went in with him until his mom yelled at them to get out of her house because, as she put it, "I don't want any freakin juveniles trespassing on property, whether I gave birth to them or not!" Except she didn't use the word _freakin_.

Anyway, Mrs. Page saw them come in and waved. Charlotte was about to say hi when she realized her mom was on the phone. So did Henry. They just waved back and went upstairs.

Except by the time they had made it up there, the laughter died down and they really couldn't think of anything to say. Not for a full, awkward minute.

Then Henry realized that he didn't finish the funny story he was telling Charlotte before they walked in. (Long story short: dog. Meatloaf. Kitchen counter. Barf. Piper. Moral of story: don't let Piper cook food, whether or not there's a puppy present.) So he told her and they ended up laughing so hard they almost didn't hear Mrs. Page call them down for dinner.

Right before the three of them were getting ready to chow down on leftovers from last night, the TV caught their attention.

…

MARY: Fortunately, the firefighters were able to rescue everyone in the burning building, including the family cat and rat, despite the obvious tension between the two pets. _(As she and Trent are both handed a Pear Pad:)_ In addition-

TRENT: I'm gonna cut you off right there, Mary.

MARY: Okay why are you always cutting me off?!

TRENT: Well, partly because, well, I don't like you. Also, we have breaking news.

MARY: _(Rolls her eyes, obviously ticked off at TRENT.)_

TRENT: It seems that the police recently received a cell phone call about a mysterious stranger possibly planting cameras around the city.

MARY: _(Before Trent could say any more:)_ Yes, Trent, it seems that the anonymous caller and their boyfriend were walking around town when they noticed a hidden camera in what might have been a plant. The caller described the camera as "awfully out of place" and felt they should notify authorities. Furthermore-

TRENT: Mary, let me handle this.

MARY: _(Appears to be resisting the urge to knock TRENT'S lights out.)_

TRENT: Furthermore, police had urged citizens to keep a cautious eye out for any suspicious activity or items. Including cameras.

MARY: In other news, Trent's girlfriend will most likely be leaving him before it's too late to turn back.

TRENT: _(Rolls his eyes, annoyed.)_

MARY: Remember, if you see anything, anything at all, don't hesitate to notify someone who will do so,etching about it. Somebody unlike Trent, who is most likely too lazy to get his girlfriend to stay.

TRENT: Mary, I f-

VOICEOVER: We'll be back after these commercial messages.

…

Henry and Charlotte exchanged a look. Somehow, deep in their brains, they knew for sure that Ray and the others had something to do with it. They were dying to ask him, but there wasn't enough time before dinner.

They ate as fast as they possibly could and hurried upstairs, hoping that Mrs. Page didn't notice the rush. As soon as the door was closed, Charlotte and Henry ducked into the closet (just in case Mrs. Page decided to come upstairs and overhear). The Kid opened his Whiz Watch and called Ray.

"Hey, kids. What goes on?"

"Dude," said Henry, unsure if his boss was in the Man Cave or otherwise- probably the latter, sincere looked normal- and paranoid "was that you?"

Ray grinned. "Oh, you mean what was just on the news earlier? You bet it was me!"

Gooch stepped into the picture. "We disguised his voice."

Ray glared at the man. "You didn't have to tell them that part!"

"Why?" Charlotte asked.

"Oh, he's embarrassed because he sounded like a little girl."

Henry and Charlotte started giggling, which evolved into a full-blown laughing fit. Ray grumped and crossed his arms. "Like, hardy har har." He hung up on the two teens, who were still laughing as they climbed out of the closet.

"That," said Henry when they were back Charlotte's room, "was very entertaining."

Charlotte agreed.

 **I'm not gonna lie, I really enjoyed writing the Trent-and-Mary part, ha ha ha.**

 **Also, I forgot to mention before that since we don't know all that much about Charlotte's family, I made her an only child in this fanfic.**

 **Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


	33. Chapter 33

**PicassoPenguin: Yeah, that makes more sense.**

 **musiqueismyjam1041: *What can I say except you're welcome…* (I'm hoping you understand the reference I'm making because I have no clue if you've ever seen that movie…)**

Something interesting happened that night while Henry and Charlotte were asleep.

They didn't have nightmares.

They slept, but they didn't have nightmares.

Both Henry and Charlotte were all sorts of terrified that they would dream about losing the other again, but somehow, that didn't happen. In fact, Henry dreamed he was walking through a bacon tree forest and kept stopping to eat, never getting full. Charlotte dreamed that she got a horse for her birthday and it kicked Jasper in the face. Jasper, in the end of it, was not okay.

They did their usual morning routines before stopping by Jasper's house and walking to school. But something was nagging at Charlotte, and it wouldn't go away. It took her a few minutes to realize what it was.

She couldn't describe it very well, but on the way to school Charlotte had a really strong feeling that something good was about to happen. She told Henry and Jasper about it as they walked, and they both said they were feeling the same way. And they weren't lying, either. They all silently poundered over it until they arrived at school.

At exactly 7:42 in the morning, while the three teens were at their lockers, Sydney came down to the hallway yelled, "Turn on the news!" Then Oliver came down and repeated what Sydney said. Sydney told him that he had already told everyone else, which led to Oliver throwing a fit while every two or three students (including Jasper) pulled out their Pear Phones, tablets, whatever they had and followed the directions, while their friends (and others) looked over shoulders to see what was going on.

…

MARY: If you're just joining us, we have breaking news. A local teen has just been arrested after being caught planting a hidden camera into a bush in Swellview Park. The teen has been accused of being the culprit who planted a hidden camera that was discovered by an anonymous caller last night. As of now, the juvenile is in custody and has not yet given any information. Also as of now, their name and other statistics have not yet been revealed to the public or the media. Stay tuned for more details, and maybe Trent will be awake enough to say something as well.

TRENT: _(Snorts and barley opens his eyes, keeping his head cupped in his hand:)_ Excuse me, Mary, but it is not my fault that the coffee machine in the break room is broken.

MARY: Isn't it, though, Trent? Isn't it?

TRENT: Mary, don't be stupid! In fact-

MARY: _(Cuts him off, clearly about to explode:)_ Trent Overunder, just because you own half the break room doesn't mean you have the power to run the rest of us! For twenty-three years I've been dying to tell you what I thought of you! And now… Well, being a Christian women I can't say it!

TRENT: Well I can. So if you don't want the viewers to hear it I suggest you be done talking!

…

The three teens stared at the Pear Pad, which had gone back to the home screen. The bad guy had been caught. It was over. (Also, Mary and Trent really needed to start getting along better. But _that_ would take nothing short of a miracle.)

Charlotte looked Henry, who looked at Jasper. Jasper looked at Charlotte as what was going on sunk in.

Not a minute later, they were in the courtyard, squealing (and trying really, really hard to control it so nobody would hear and stare) and jumping around and hugging. Jasper couldn't help but notice that when Henry and Charlotte hugged and didn't let go for a solid minute. They just stood there, looking happier than he had ever seen them.

Which meant Jasper was happy, too. He was also envisioning them at senior prom together.

Later, when Henry requested a bathroom pass, he passed the theatre room and could hear the drama geeks singing. Henry had always wondered how many times someone could sing about how great some alleged wizard was before getting bored of it, but he was in such a good mood right then that he almost started singing along with them.

…

Back in the Man Cave, Ray, Gooch, Schwoz and Bork were engaging in a similar ritual, except no one was hugging for as long as Henry and Charlotte had been. They were blowing bubbles so they could change back into their normal selves and playing with party poppers (but refrained from setting off the fireworks they had in storage). Basically, the place was a zoo with only four animals.

That number became seven when the three teens arrived from school that afternoon. (At least, mathematicians are pretty sure four plus three equals seven… Right?) Instead of doing what they usually do, they spent the rest of the work day playing around, goofing off, playing games, and just having fun, all while looking the way they do _before_ the special gumballs. In fact, Ray was actually being extra nice to everyone. _If this is the way Ray treats people when he's happy, zen he shall ALVAYS be this happy,_ thought Schwoz.

Ray even ordered some pizza to be delivered to the store, which surprised the kids because they hadn't yet known he gave up the P.E.P. diet again. Truthfully, Henry and Charlotte were relieved; Ray eat pumpkin stuff always seemed like he was rubbing the fact that they lost the bet in there faces.

But the point is, everyone was happy.

After a couple of hours, though, their happiness was shattered.

Schwoz was fiddling with the remote control (which had run out of batteries) so everyone could watch some _Drake and Josh_ on the TV and calm down a little. Schwoz had turned it on right before the remote died, and it showed that KLVY was on with breaking news.

News that changed everything.

…

MARY: Hello, everyone. We have some breaking news.

TRENT: _(Much more awake than he was this morning:)_ Yes, it appears that the juvenile who was arrested this morning was found to not be guilty. The teenager- who goes only by the name "Andrew" for privacy reasons- is actually from Bordertown and has been under house arrest for six weeks for a computer hacking crime.

MARY: Solid evidence from traffic cameras has proven that Andrew was not even in Swellview until about three fifteen in the morning. He was a caught a few hours later.

TRENT: I got this, Mary. As of now-

MARY: Trent's girlfriend has left him after listening to him cuss me out in the break room earlier today while his coffee cup overflowed from the broken coffee maker that he decided to use anyway.

TRENT: Let's go over to Evelyn Hall at the Swellview Police Station. _(Thinking the camera has cut to Evelyn:)_ Mary am I going to have to yell at you again?!

MARY: _(Smirking, because she knew that the camera was still rolling:)_ Not unless you ever want to find a new girlfriend.

 _(Cut to EVELYN in front of the police station in Swellview.)_

EVELYN: _(Not knowing she is on air:)_ Are they _still_ bickering over there? _(Realizes she is on air.)_ Oh! Um, so Andrew _has_ been taken back to his home in Bordertown to his parents, but police urge the public to continue keeping a lookout for anything they find suspicious. We'll be back to KLVY after this. _(Thinking that the station has gone to commercial:)_ Dude, I told you, cue me in! Wait, are we still on? Oh sh-

 _(Cue Fred Lobster advertisement.)_

…

For a solid minute all they could do was stare at the screen. Slowly, one by one, Henry, Charlotte, Jasper, Ray, Gooch, Schwoz and Bork all turned their heads to face one another.

Then the screaming begins.

 **First and foremost: I write "drama geeks" with pride, I am a proud theatre geek/Thespian myself. No offense meant.**

 **Also I'm just going to ask- did anyone actually think it was over? You know, before the last few paragraphs? I'm just curious.**

 **Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


	34. Chapter 34

**SURPRISE!**

 **So, my school's Spring Break is FINALLY here, and it dawned on me earlier that I was going to be out of town Sunday. Seeing as how I had no idea when I was going to have internet connection, let alone time to post, I decided to post the new chapter now :). I hope you guys enjoy it!**

 **Picasso Penguin: No kidding! You're totally right; quick, someone alert Dan Schneider to make a new spin-off!**

Aside from Henry, Ray and Bork, none of the Junk N' Stuff employees were exactly "more than physically fit". Well, they were healthy and all that, but they weren't constantly fighting, chasing, and other stuff.

Amazingly, though, every single one of them was able to keep up with the athletic group as they sprinted from Junk N' Stuff for an entire block. Charlotte was the first one to burn out her adrenaline and had to slow down to a job before completely stopping, trying to stifle her obnoxiously loud coughing. Henry noticed this and and stopped. The others quit running a few steps after.

Gooch, Charlotte, Jasper and Schwoz just about collapsed onto the ground and sidewalk. Henry grabbed Charlotte's arm and helped her sit down on the bench (that she ended up crouched down in front of) next to him. Jasper and Schwoz were wheezing like they was about to have asthma attacks. Bork was barely out of breath but sat down next to Ray, whose was leaning up against a thick-ish tree. Gooch practically collapsed next to Bork and buried his head in his hands.

After a minute, Charlotte had finally stopped coughing and was just breathing heavily now. Henry put a hand on her back and looked up and around. The only other life form around appeared to be a dead possum in the middle of the road who couldn't have seen it anyway, since dead things tend to lose their vision once their heart had stopped. (Right?)

No one wanted to go back to the Man Cave, so Henry decided he may as well volunteer his place. "My family's still out of town. Yes, Ray, that means my mom is not at home." Charlotte used a hand to cover her smile, but everyone else (except Ray, obviously) just laughed out loud.

However, everyone was paranoid about going since- well, all that. It was Schwoz's idea to break off into groups upon arrival to search the house for anything suspicious. Everyone agreed.

Henry and Charlotte searched upstairs; Ray and Gooch investigated the first story; Jasper, Schwoz and Bork pawed through every leaf they could find outside.

After about fifteen minutes, everyone was pretty convinced that they were safe; the only thing out of place was that Mrs. Hart's picture was missing, but Henry knew automatically that Ray took it and demanded he give it back. Ray grumbled and surrendered the photograph.

Everyone found a place in the living room. Henry and Charlotte sat next to each other; Jasper took a seat about half a foot away from them on the end, and the adults spread themselves out on the other half of the couch.

"So," said Henry before the quietness became too much for anyone to bear. "This is bad."

"Yeah, it's bad." Ray nervously ran a hand through his hair. "In fact, it's gone way beyond bad. It's- it's-" Ray stuttered a little before he finally crossed his arms and tried to think of a strong enough cuss word. _They need to invent more of those,_ he thought.

Meanwhile, Charlotte's and Henry's fingers had gone down into the couch cushion crack that was in beaten them. Their fingers wiggled around for a moment before finding each other. Absentmindedly, their hands laced up with each other as if it was something they did on a regular basis. They didn't even realize it.

No one else could really think of anything to say, so Schwoz mentioned that his pig was still in the Man Cave and that they'd need to go back down there soon, anyway. No one argued with him. They knew they would have to.

Silence. Lots and lots of silence.

Later, it was Jasper who realized that everyone should get going soon or it would be dark. Henry asked his friends to do another search of the property first, just to be safe.

It was right after he and Charlotte got up that they walked they were (still) holding hands, but neither of them wanted to let go. So they didn't the entire time they searched the second story of the house.

In fact, they didn't let go of each other until Henry was ready to lock up the front door.

…

Ray, Gooch, Schwoz, and Bork waved goodbye to Henry, Charlotte and Jasper as they reached the point where it was time for them to split. The men were going back to Junk N' Stuff, where the plan was to blow a bubble and get down to the Man Cave. Ray promised everyone before they left the Hart house that there were going to be some intense security upgrades. Hopefully, they would keep out any unwanted guests, whether they were robotic or otherwise.

When the three teens arrived at Jasper's house, he was hesitant to go in. But he knew that every second he wasted standing there was another second of daylight lost, and that the chance his besties would be walking back to the Bolton house in the dark increased. Sure, there were street lights, but it wasn't the same as light from the sun.

As the pair of remaining people (aka Henry and Charlotte) walked across the driveway to the Page house, they realized that they had been holding hands again. They weren't sure for how long, but they both mentally guessed since they left Jasper. _He probably would've said something about it,_ thought Henry, biting his lip.

Both teens were hoping that Mrs. Page would find some way to cheer them up (without meaning to, since, well, you know) but she was in a horrible mood when they arrived.

Oh, she tried to hide it. One thing for sure: Charlotte's mother is no actress.

Mrs. Page was on the phone when the pair stepped onto the porch. She was speaking loud enough that they could hear, but they couldn't understand what she was saying. They exchanged a look before Charlotte opened the door.

"I don't care, you need to- yes I can- why, you little- oh! Hold on," she lowered the phone and put on a fake smile. "Hi, kids! Dinner's almost ready!" Henry and Charlotte looked at each other before looking back at the kitchen. _It must be a pretty light dinner,_ they thought simultaneously, _because there is nothing there._

"Just, um, go entertain yourselves until I call you down. Have fun!" Mrs. Page turned around and started hissing things into the phone. Henry looked at his bestie and had just opened his mouth to speak when she (Charlotte) rolled her eyes and grabbed him by the arm, pulling him upstairs.

"What was _that_?!" Henry asked, staring at her once the door to her room was closed. Charlotte rolled her eyes again. "It's just another stupid phone call fight. Happens all the time. Dad says he won't be home as planned 'yet'-" Charlotte made little quotation marks with her fingers "and needs to stay out for a little longer. Mom usually responds with a whole lot of swearing. Then, later- if it's supposed to be time for dinner- she'll come tell me some new recipe or hers failed and we're either gonna go out to eat or order pizza. It's kind of entertaining, actually." Charlotte dumped her backpack next to her bed and started rummaging through it for the homework she hadn't finished yet, avoiding her bestie's face.

 _She's so lying._ Henry walked over and sat down next to her. "Yeah, I'm not buying that. Doesn't it, like, bother you?"

Charlotte shrugged like it all meant nothing. "Nah," she lied, arranging her facial expressions so she looked like she didn't care. In reality, she hated it.

Just then, footsteps started approaching the room.

 **I'm pretty sure I've mentioned this before, but I'm going to say it again anyway: since they give us almost no info on Charlotte's family, I'm playing around with it. Just didn't want to confuse anyone.**

 **Ahhhhhh my iPad recently updated and I can't get used to the new keyboard ah ha ha ;).**

 **Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


	35. Chapter 35

Henry sprang up from the bed, ready to fight, or run, or anything, really. Someone knocked. Charlotte tensed up.

"Kids? Can I come in?"

Charlotte and Henry both relaxed. Let's face it, with everything going on around them, anything would scare the snot outta them.

"Yeah, come on in," called Charlotte, standing up next to Henry.

Mrs. Page stepped into the room, holding a towel like she had actually been cooking. "Well," she said, with a really fake grin, "that turkey tetrazzini recipe was quite the disaster." Charlotte resisted the urge to roll her eyes; she knew good and well her mother didn't even like turkey tetrazzini. "How's pizza sound to you two?"

Charlotte smiled (it looked a _lot_ less fake than her mother's had). "Sounds good to me. Henry?" She turned to him. "What do you think?"

Henry smiled as well. His actually looked real from the years of grinning through pain he earned fighting as Kid Danger. _Practice makes perfect, I guess,_ thought Charlotte. "Sounds good to me to."

Mrs. Page smile went from obviously fake to obviously relieved. "Great! Henry, sweetie, you like pepperoni, right?" Henry nodded. "Alright! I'll go order!" She left, closing the door behind her.

Charlotte turned to Henry. "Told you so," she said with a smirk.

"Um, ex-cuuuuuuuse me, Miss P, I never said you might be wrong." He raised one eyebrow. Charlotte rolled her eyes again. "Okay, Mr. Smarty Pants. Homework time!" Henry groaned.

…

That evening, the two teens sat in front of the TV watching the new _Beauty and the Beast_ (they decided what movie based on a bet: heads or tails? Charlotte won two times, plus the rematch Henry demanded) with a box of extra-large pepperoni pizza in between them. Mrs. Page had taken a couple slices and excused herself to her room, saying she had to make a few phone calls. "For work" is what she claimed the calls were for. Charlotte just rolled her eyes while her mother wasn't looking. They were having a little conversation about the new one versus the old one:

"Remind me," said Henry towards the end, "why do people seem to prefer this one to the original?"

Charlotte shrugged. "I dunno; I like it, but they don't have enough facial expressions. Particularly that one part." She pointed to the screen with her half-eaten pizza slice. "Mostly I have it playing it the background when I'm doing chores or whatever and just listen to it."

Henry shrugged and took another bite of his own slice.

A few minutes later, they both reached for one of the remaining pieces. The same one. For a split second they didn't even realize it until they were holding hands again. But they just used their other hands to get more pizza without letting go.

When the other one wasn't looking, they both smiled.

…

Neither of them could really get to sleep that night. They both assumed the other was getting some shut eye, but they were both wrong.

At one point, after about an hour, Henry rolled onto his side facing the window just as Charlotte quietly got up and went to her bathroom for some water. When she returned a minute later, Henry was sitting up in bed, doing something on his phone. They both jumped a little.

"I thought you were asleep," said Charlotte before Henry could.

"So did I. I mean, I thought you had fallen asleep already." _I sound like a complete_ dork _._

"Well, I'm not…"

"So I see…" Henry out his phone down. Charlotte walked over and sat next to him. "So I guess I'm not the only one who can't seem to get some shut-eye tonight."

"Yeah… Why?"

"I don't know, but my theory is that my stomach is twisting because I ate too much pizza."

"Yours too? But neither of us ate anymore than usual." Charlotte turned her head and shrugged even though Henry couldn't see it.

"I just… I just have a really bad feeling."

"So I'm not the only one."

Charlotte shrugged again. Without a word, she lied down next to him. They found themselves in the exact same position as they were last night, except facing the other direction. They drifted off instantly.

…

"You know, if that's the only way either of us are going to get a decent amount of sleep, you may as well just come on over before we stay up forever." Henry wasn't exactly sure where that came from, but it was too late to take it back.

Much to the surprise of both teens, Charlotte just shrugged and said, "Yeah, I guess you're right."

They were walking to Jasper's house. The morning had, so far, gone pretty much the same way as the one before, except both of them still had a twisted stomach. Henry pulled the hood of her hoodie over his head, trying to hide how red his face was. If Charlotte was blushing, he couldn't tell.

Jasper was waiting for them on his porch, playing Octopie. The boy looked up and slid his phone into his pocket. While he approached them, Charlotte blurted out, "Jasper, are you feeling okay?!"

Jasper looked at her like she was crazy, knowing Charlotte had always been (and will most likely always be) the sane one in their little trio. "Um… Yeah. Why?"

Henry put a hand on Charlotte's shoulder and squeezed, telling her to calm down. "It's just that, well, Charlotte and I kinda sorta have a bad feeling and a really bad stomach ache. We just wanted to know if you… uh…" Henry's voice trailed off.

Jasper realized what Charlotte had been trying to ask. "Well, funny that you ask… because I keep feeling like something bad is going to happen."

"Does your stomach hurt, or something?" Charlotte asked, lightly brushing Henry's hand with her own so he'd take it off her shoulder. She could feel her face getting hotter by the second at his touch.

"No, actually. Usually when I get this feeling I start sweating. More than usual," he added.

Just then, his phone fell out of his pocket.

"Religious pants?" Henry guessed automatically. Charlotte snorted. (Holy, religious- get it? Ha ha.)

Jasper rolled his eyes. "For your information, these pants have one little hole in the front right pocket."

"Then why did I see your underpants a minute ago?" Charlotte hid her smile as Jasper totally freaked out and started searching for a hole in the butt of his pants. Henry started laughing, and Charlotte joined in. Jasper grumped and reached down to pick up his phone.

Except his hand was covered in sweat and it slid out of his fingers. His friends stopped laughing.

…

Before the first bell rang, Henry texted Ray to describe the morning's events and ask what about them, but didn't get a response until Ms. Shapen's class. Fortunately she was too busy setting up an internet date (who would agree to go out with Ms. Shapen was beyond her students) to notice the three teens start texting one another.

 _Henry: This is what Ray said:_

 _Now that you mention it, Bork and I was up all night stress eating, and Gooch and Schwoz didn't get much sleep last night. So I guess, but it would've been hard to sleep down there anyway… Which is exactly why we took blankets and pillows up to Junk N' Stuff._

 _Which didn't exactly help, but yeah._

 _Charlotte: So that really didn't tell us anything._

 _Jasper: Isn't That "Was" Supposed To Be A "Were" ?_

 _Charlotte: Yes._

 _Jasper: Suould We Mention That To Rat?_

 _Jasper: *Should_

 _*Ray_

 _Charlotte: I don't think Ray would really care. Although he might use it as an excuse to get mad at us._

 _Henry: Guys, we're getting off topic here. What are we gonna do?_

 _Jasper: About What?_

 _Henry: I dont know!_

 _Charlotte: I think for now we should just try and focus on not focusing on all that. Let's just abandon the thought until we get to work. Also, "dont" is supposed to be "don't" genius._

 _Henry: Okay, okay, whatever_

 _Jasper: Yeah. Sure. That'll Totally Work._

 _Henry: Shut up Jasper_

 _Charlotte: Shut up Jasper._

The bell rang. The three teens glumly shoved their phones into their pockets (except Jasper, who put it into his backpack) and started toward the classroom door.

 **Bonjour! So... I have no idea what to say.**

 **Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


	36. Chapter 36

**I feel the need to give a warning: while their isn't any actual violence happening in this chapter, it is mentioned a few times. The actual violent parts (which are why I rated this story _T_ ) wil come later, I promise!**

Quiet. That is the only really acceptable word to describe the rest of the school day.

Well, actually, that's only half true. (Wait- or is it half wrong?) For Jasper, Charlotte and Henry it was quiet. They didn't talk to each other at all (which made things between the latter two teens a little bit more awkward) the entire time until they got to work- the only words that had been spoken were along the lines of "Hey" and "Do you gave any threes-deuces-kings-jokers-Jasper we're not supposed to be using jokers, pick another card."

Even during lunch, no words were spoken. The three teens poked at their food, barely managing to choke down a few bites. It was almost like that one time with the super volcano- they just weren't… _feeling_ anything.

The two superheroes, Jasper and Charlotte were down in the Man Cave. Everyone else was upstairs, trying to get some more sleep. As for wardrobe, the special gum had really slacked off. The only difference between anyone's fake outfit from the day before was that all the clothing was the opposite color scheme- red to green, yellow to purple, like that.

The Man Cave was quiet. But not for long. (And not because of Henry explaining to Jasper why they weren't using jokers.) It was Charlotte who broke the silence.

"YOU GUYS!"

Henry, Jasper and Ray snapped to attention from their game of Go Fish.

"What? What is it?!" Henry threw his cards down onto the Man Cave floor, almost in a state of FREAKING OUT. (Well, the _almost_ part wasn't true.)

Then he noticed something that made him calm down (but only like, one percent). Even with her looking like a complete stranger, Henry recognized the look on Charlotte's face. She had found something.

Jasper followed his guy friend, and so did Ray. Charlotte made a few clicks. The screen cut to footage of Swellview Park- a bird's eye view of the whole property. "Someone's there right now, and I made a few hacks and managed to find out a few _things_ about him." She put special emphasis on the word "things" that made her friends nervous.

She made a few more clicks and a picture popped up. It was a man.

The boys (yes, that includes Ray) studied the picture. The man, for one thing, was bald as a… well, he had no hair on his head whatsoever. Or anywhere else they could see, for that matter.

"His name is Jim Grim," added Charlotte.

The man- Jim Grim- had a unibrow, but some of it wasn't visible because of the eyepatch he was wearing. There was a scar that actually went over the patch, which (probably) meant it wasn't just there to look tough. The eyepatch elastic stretched over one of his plus-sized ears. They weren't ginormous, but they were definitely bigger than most adults were.

His mouth was slightly open (not smiling, obviously), so they could see that his teeth were as yellow as lemons- which is what he appeared to have eaten right before the picture, from his expression- and roughly a third of them were missing, with a few of the remaining ones cracked like eggshells.

The picture was taken in such a way that they could see that Jim Grim had on clothes that reflected the light that might've been a camera flash. So did his hairless head.

"Uh… who exactly is this guy?" said Henry, raised a hand to his mouth. He has never been a nail biter, but it appeared the Kid was about to gain a new habit.

"Like I said, his name is Jim Grim- I'll bet anything he came up with that on his own- and I found his file; he's been to and broken out of several different prisons across the world. And he happens to be in Swellview Park." Charlotte zoomed in on the camera footage so they could get a better look. Sure enough, it was him.

"Well then, what are we waiting for?!" Ray whipped out his gumball tube- the Captain Man one. "Kid, blow a bubble; we got a criminal to catch."

"No."

Everyone turned to look at Charlotte. "Excuse me, missy?" Ray raised an eyebrow at her.

"There's no way Hen- I'm sorry, _Kid Danger_ is joining you for this one." Charlotte crossed her arms. "And _this_ is why." She pushed a button, and the picture of Jim Grim was replaced by a new one.

He looked almost the same, except for the guns.

That's right; guns. He had a belt on the was loaded with them, plus one in each hand; it was no wonder Charlotte didn't want Henry to go.

"Guys, check this out. He's killed dozens of people either as a hate crime or because they were in his way. The guy's a serial killer- a _murderer_. Ray'll be okay if he gets shot, but Henry…." Charlotte's voice trailed off as she lowered her head and twisted her hands together in nervousness.

Jasper bit his lip and looked at the other two guys. Ray seemed to be processing what Charlotte was saying. So did Henry.

There was a moment of silence before Henry knelt down next to Charlotte, taking her hand. "Char, I'll be fine. Superpower, remember?" He waved his hand in front of her face as he said that last sentence. "I promise."

"But-"

"C'mon, you know I can do this!" Charlotte noticed Henry actually sounded a little bit… angry. She straightened her posture but didn't stand up.

"Henry, I'm sorry, but you can't. Look, that's not Jeff. That's not Dr. Minyak or even Nurse Cohort. That's a weirdly-named serial murderer. And he's not holding blasters, or lasers, or dream beams- did I ever mention you scared the snot outta me that day?" Except _snot_ was not the word she used. "He's holding _guns_ , Henry. And he won't hesitate to shoot you. He won't hesitate to shoot a freaking teenager like you." Is it necessary to mention that she didn't say _freaking_? "Which I know because he has. Henry, this butt head-" Again- you get the picture. "-can and probably will end your _life_. How you plan on hiding _that_ from your parents?!"

Henry stared at her for a solid minute. (So did everyone else.) Jasper was actually getting ready to take Charlotte's side and demand that Henry stay when the reassuring facial expression the Kid was wearing melted away and was replaced by pure anger.

"Charlotte, I can take care of myself. And I've fought dangerous people before- remember Drex."

Of course she did. "Or course I do. But the worst thing Drex did was humiliate the snot out of you." Again, _snot_ was not the word. Actually, just assume for the time being that _snot_ and _freaking_ mean something else. "Even Drex didn't carry around guns and murder people."

Henry knew she had a point, but he wasn't going to admit it. Instead, he glared a nasty glare at her. "Charlotte, I thought you had faith in me!"

"I do! I just don't want you to go and get yourself killed!"

"Gee, thanks for the reass-"

"GUYS, WE ARE WASTING TIME!" Ray suddenly yelled. Both teens-oh, and Jasper- turned around to see that Ray had transformed while they were fighting. "Charlotte, if something bad happens to Henry I give you full permission to say 'I told you so' as well as access to full bragging rights. Henry, blow a bubble and get your butt to the tubes." Does it need to be said that _butt_ wasn't the word he used?

Henry glared at Charlotte and stomped towards the tubes, taking his Kid Danger gum out of his pocket as he walked. By the time he was ready to call it, he was Kid Danger once again.

"Call it."

"Up the tubes!"

Charlotte and Jasper watched the tubes come down and take them away. They had no idea what to expect; they were afraid.

Understatement of the year.

 **So that happened. Sorry to leave you guys at a cliffhanger (again) but I was referred to as the "Queen of Cliffhangers" so I have a reputation to live up to, LOL! (I'm actually gonna make a crown that says that- I've embraced the title!)**

 **Well, really I would end up ending the chapter right there anyway because... yeah I'm going to leave it right there because I'm am not The Spoiler ;).**

 **And, man, I turn my back for five seconds and I'm running out of ready chapters- you guys are catching up to me! But never fear, I've still got more to write for y'all!**

 **Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


	37. Chapter 37

**Bonjour!**

 **So, after a lot of careful thinking, I decided not to post a new chapter today.**

 **April Fools! Sorry, couldn't resist.**

 **Anyway, fair warning: this chapter is where the violence happens. Just do you know.**

 **Which reminds me: Jim Grim is my OC, I forgot to mention that last week.**

 **One more thing: Buckle your seatbelts; this is gonna be a long one.**

Kid Danger bit his lip as he whizzed up the tubes. He glanced over at Captain Man to make sure he wasn't looking before bring a hand to his face and rubbing his eyes. _Henry Hart, I swear to God, if you start crying…_

Kid Danger was really starting to think. Charlotte was right- this guy was way dangerous. But he didn't want to look like a coward and back out. He wanted to help.

More than anything, though, he wanted Charlotte.

 _Did I just lose my best friend?_

They had never fought like this before. The worst argument they'd ever had was over who got their ice cream first this one time back when they were eight (Charlotte won). Neither of them apologized; immediately afterwards it was like nothing ever happened.

But this was different- much more was at stake here than a few scoops of Intense Chocolate.

All of a sudden, Kid Danger was really scared that he wasn't going to be able to apologize.

Focus _, Henry. Focus._

The drive to the park was… yeah, there's no way only one word could possibly describe it. Captain Man kept saying things to Kid Danger about what was going to happen when they got there, but all the latter one really caught was "... Jim… attack and defense…."

Until they were about half a minute from where they needed to be, and Captain Man realized his sidekick wasn't really listening and smacked the side of his head.

"OW-OW-OW! Dude, what the butt was that for?!"

"You haven't been listening to a word I said! Kid, Charlotte was right- Jim Grim- despite the weird name- is dangerous." He put the car into park and buried his face into his hands. "Worse than Drex. Much worse. I should've left you at the Man Cave." He looked behind him at the mostly-empty back of the van. "And I should've brought some stuff with us-" his voice was cut off by the sound off… _gunshots?!_

 _Oh my god-_

"Forget it, Ray. I mean, Captain Man." Well, _forget_ wasn't the exact word he used. "Let's move." Before his boss could protest, Kid Danger swung open the door, undid his seat belt and started running in the direction the shots were coming from.

Captain Man started swearing very colorfully. He clicked off his own seat belt, locked the van and ran after his sidekick.

 _This,_ he thought, _is not going to end well._

…

Captain Man caught up to his sidekick just as Kid Danger stumbled upon the ring of trees he had climbed a few days ago. Smack in the middle of the ring was Jim Grim.

The superheroes (well, superhero and sidekick, but whatever) ducked behind a pair of trees before the villain saw them. Kid Danger noticed a hole- a bullet hole- in his and peeked through.

Jim Grim looked a lot like he had in the photo. _Bald as as bald eagle. Wait, that doesn't make any sense…_ His suit was a shiny silver. Designed, Kid Danger realized, to distract his enemy. _Creative._

Kid Danger couldn't see this, but Jim Grim had on boots with spikes on the bottom that were about half an inch long. What he _could_ see was the eyepatch, because the villain was staring right at him.

 _HOLY-_

Kid Danger gasped and ducked. Then the gun went off.

Only, thank god, Jim Grim had shot Captain Man's tree. The bullet ripped through the plant and bounced off of the superhero- except Jim Grim didn't see it happen.

He did, however, hear the scream of pain that was a result.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Raising his gun toward Captain Man, Jim Grim smiled, allowing the superhero and sidekick a full view of his nasty teeth- they were chipped and yellow, and a few were missing, just like in the photos.

Kid Danger noticed that his black gloves were both covered in blood. His own ran cold; his knees started to shake and seemed ready to give out. His gut instinct was telling to get the heck outta there, but he ignored it.

Big mistake.

Upon hearing the heavy breathing that was not coming from the superhero, Jim Grim finally noticed the teen behind Captain Man and lowered his gun. "Oh, look- is it Halloween already?"

Kid Danger did his best to glare at the villain. (He ended up looking constipated instead.) "No, it is not, _sir_. Now put your hands on your head." The Kid took a step outward and started to slowly walk toward Jim.

Another big mistake.

Suddenly, without warning, Jim produced a knife from his boot and lashed out. Kid Danger's hypermotility kicked in, and the knife merely cut off some hair from the top of his head. But Jim, apparently expecting this, swung his fist and punched Kid Danger square in the nose, sending him flying back into a tree.

Jim Grim swung his knife again, but fortunately Kid Danger ducked and he missed, earning Jim Grim a boot to the gut. _Un_ fortunately, the knife managed to open a small cut on Kid Danger's left ankle. Another slash earned him a longer cut right below his left shoulder. Kid Danger bit his lip in fear so hard that it started bleeding.

 _Great. Now I'm going to lose even_ more _blood._

Where, one might wonder, was Captain Man? He had frozen up and ended up just watching (and feeling slightly nauseated), but was getting his senses back and suddenly threw both his fists at Jim.

Except Jim grabbed Captain Man's arms and managed to send his fists flying into Kid Danger's eyes.

This was not going well.

Jim turned his attention to Captain Man, who, realizing what just happened, had gotten on his knees and was trying to do a quick check-up on his sidekick. Jim just smiled.

All of a sudden- face it, nothing is going to be happening without a warning first- a few bodies in ski masks (gee, how creative) burst out of the trees and launched themselves at the pair of superheroes.

Only instead of going after Kid Danger, which seemed like the obvious choice, they grabbed Captain Man, wrestling him away.

This resulted in a full-scale fight. Captain Man, no doubt, is an amazing fighter, but it was six- no, seven- against one.

Jim Grim smiled again. He knew it was to keep the superhero busy because it was his idea.

With Captain Man distracted, Jim turned back toward Kid Danger, who was frantically trying to put pressure on all of his cuts to stop the bleeding. He didn't even notice Jim's hand come down to slap his right cheek until after it happened. He was on the ground.

Jim tried, but Kid Danger's hypermotility saved his life right then. He received a cut on the (upstairs) cheek and thigh, but that was it.

For right then.

Captain Man was still trying to take care of the fighters- the number had increased to ten, which was _so_ not fair, but Jim didn't care. (Hey, that rhymed! Captain Man would like that.) The villain put a foot on Kid Danger's side, right above his appendix (well, where it would be, anyway- he got it removed a few years before landing the Kid Danger job) and punched the Kid's rib cage over and over again; he was going to have bruises later.

Kid Danger made one last attempt to get off of the ground, but Jim slashed his ear and ended up cutting a small piece of skin off. It didn't hurt the sidekick all that much- especially in comparison to everything else- but he was losing blood and was pretty sure moving would make it worse. He curled up into a ball.

Jim smiled, thinking Kid Danger was done for.

That's when he heard something from behind him. Whipping around, he saw that Captain Man was standing in a sea (well, really, it was like a miniature pond) of unconscious bodies.

The superhero, it turns out, had managed to find his laser in between attacks. Fortunately, they were charged, and he was able to knock them all out. ("Them" being the ski mask dudes.)

Jim knew that Captain Man was coming for him with the laser, but his smile didn't falter enough for it to be noticeable. With a snarl, he put away his knife and replaced it was a little gun.

What Jim didn't know was that it would do no harm to the superhero. This became apparent when the villain raised the weapon and pulled the trigger.

Only, to his absolute shock, to find that the bullet just bounced off Captain Man's forehead. Jim Grim was baffled, but refused to let it show. The superhero, who had victoriously managed not to let any painful noises slip out this time, smirked. "I'm okay."

The villain smirked in response. "Maybe you are," he began to turn, "but your little sidekick isn't."

Captain Man followed Jim Grim's gaze to the tree that the sidekick had been lying in front off. Except no one was there.

Both their heads snapped up at the same time to see that Kid Danger had managed to get up and start dragging himself toward a bush for a little bit of cover. Captain Man was glad and proud of him for trying to get himself out of there, but Jim Grim wouldn't allow it.

Without warning, he raised his gun in the sidekick's direction and fired. Twice

Once again, the superpower he had gained saved his butt. Barely, but it did. The first bullet grazed his wrist, and the other hit the skin of his upper right thigh. Kid Danger screamed and grabbed the second wound- it hurt so much more.

Captain Man ran to tackle his enemy, but wasn't able to make it before said enemy raised his gun and fired again.

This time, the bullet ripped right through Kid Danger's leg, smacked in the midpoint of the segment of his knee and ankle. But he didn't scream in pain this time- Kid Danger had fallen unconscious.

By the time the bullet struck, Captain Man was on top of Jim Grim, screaming at him (there were plenty of swear words involved):

"What the _heck_ did you just do that for, _butthole_?! He was just a baby!" Captain Man was really mad right then- at Jim, mostly, but also at himself. _This would NOT be happening if I hadn't ever hired him…_

"If he's so helpless," Jim shot back (yes, _shot_. Too soon? Sorry bout that), "then why did you bring him out here?"

No one else, thank god, was around to witness this. And not just because they would've heard that question. Captain Man glared at Jim. "My sidekick is NOT helpless. He is a perfectly capable young man who YOU, you _freaking butthole,_ just shot down for NO GOD _DANG_ REASON!"

Jim rolled his eyes in a way that suggested that it- whatever _it_ may be- was obvious. "Of course I had a reason. And if it makes you feel any better, I didn't do it alone."

"I know that. A dozen of your cronies just attacked me while you-"

Jim cut the superhero off before he could start swearing again. "Not from them." He whistled, and a little white bird- Captain Man was more or less sure it was a cockatoo, but whatever- flew in from a nearby tree and landed next to Jim Grim.

Captain Man had no idea what the heck to expect- he was confused. Not to mention the bird looked really familiar.

But it was all cleared up when the bird started growing, and growing, into-

"GERTA?!" Captain Man cried. "What-"

Jim Grim rolled his eyes again, this time playfully. He clearly enjoyed watching Captain Man get lost in everything. "Oh, so I see you too have meant. Found the little bird during a prison break. I'm very good at them, in case you haven't heard. My latest had the help of a pet rat, only it was wires rather than veins. Sound familiar? Anyway, back to the bird. At first I thought I had found some food, but then I discovered that I had found me another weapon." Captain Man opened his mouth to say something- presumably a string of swear words-but he didn't get to say it. "But wait, there's more!" Jim Grim fished a little remote out of his pocket and pushed a button.

Within seconds, Gerta had turned into Hope Jones.

Captain Man's jaw dropped. After so much time wondering and worrying, the mystery was solved. Both parts.

 _I've got to tell Henry… HENRY!_

Captain Man cussed out Jim Grim as he ran toward where his sidekick was lying. During this, about half a dozen emergency vehicles approached the park, sirens blaring. Later, Ray found out from Schwoz that the inventor had checked the security cameras in the park just in time to see Kid Danger get shot the first two times; he freaked out and called 9-1-1 from the emergency hotline. Charlotte and Jasper, bless their souls, had been sent upstairs for something and didn't see it happen.

Upon hearing the sirens, Jim Grim sprinted out of sight. Hope (well, Gerta, but whatever) turned back into a bird and disappeared. The superhero saw that a couple of the ski masks dudes had woken up and fled as he wasn't his enemy get away. Swearing some more, Captain Man rushed to show to EMS attendants where to find Kid Danger.

 **Told you it would be long.**

 **Back in Chapter 2 an author's note I put said "You're all probably wondering when more action gonna show up. I PROMISE it'll get here! I've already sketched out ideas! But it's going to be a few chapters before some crime fighting starts." Yeah, only took another 35 chapters, LOL!**

 **Which reminds me: Happy Easter (even if you don't celebrate Easter I hope you have a good day anyway :))!**

 **Ciao, and Happy Holidays!**


	38. Chapter 38

Ray paced back and forth up in Junk N' Stuff; the horrific scene kept replaying over and over again in his head.

It was no wonder why; Ray was, no doubt, resistant to all physical injuries- even before the accident with the Denzitizer he never had a broken bone or anything. Rarely ever had a bruise or needed a Band-Aid. Feelings, on the other hand? They were definitely wrecked.

His thoughts were interrupted. "Ray!" Charlotte stepped out in front of him. "Just tell us what happened!"

"Yeah!" Jasper took a step so he was standing next to Charlotte.

The two teens knew that something bad had happened- they just didn't know what.

Captain Man had shown the doctors who rushed to the park in the ambulance to where his sidekick was lying. They got to work and, alleluia, managed to close some of the more minor wounds and stop most of the bleeding. Meanwhile, Captain Man tossed what little was in the back of the Man Van up front so he could take Kid Danger back to the Man Cave.

Some of the doctors were personals with Captain Man who had taken the oath back when he hired Henry to be Kid Danger in case something bad enough to require professional care ever happened to him. They knew- more or less- where the Man Cave was, but not any secret identities. But _that_ secret was about to get exposed.

Again.

A bunch of medical equipment was jammed into the Man Van- since there were no crowds to witness what had happened, no one really knew yet. The goal- besides keeping Kid Danger breathing- was to get him back to the Man Cave without drawing attention before word got out.

They succeeded. By the time people started finding out what had happened in Swellview Park, Kid Danger was in the Man Cave being treated. Schwoz, Gooch, and Bork banished Ray, Charlotte and Jasper upstairs to Junk N' Stuff and were helping the doctors in any way they could downstairs. Which meant Ray was the only person the two teens could get any legit information out of.

"RAY!" Charlotte was practically whining at this point. "JUST TELL US WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED!" She said something like that, anyway.

Ray bit his lip so hard it would've bled if not for his indestructibility. The last thing he wanted was too traumatize the kids like that, but his mind drifted to the super volcano. They handled that. _Wait- Jasper didn't know. But whatever._ Ray finally gave in, but warned the kids that they weren't going to like it; he was right. By the time he finished telling the story, all three of them were crying their eyes out. In fact, Charlotte and Jasper were too upset to really bother feeling anything as far as the fact that the mystery part of everything was solved. Schwoz went through the same thing, as well as Gooch and Bork.

They were also facing a problem. (Besides the obvious.)

"Ray, if Henry doesn't come back to my house, my mom is going to know that something's up. Which means that his family will know something's up. How on earth are we going to hide all this?"

All of a sudden, Charlotte's phone began to ring, causing the three people to jump. It was her mom.

"Oh, _no_." Charlotte moaned. She clicked the ACCEPT button and shakily held it up to her right ear.

"Uh… hello?"

"Charlotte, baby, did you hear?!" Her mom sounded really… excited. In a good way, though, which was slightly reassuring.

Slightly.

"Ummmmmmmm about what?"

"Your cousin Polly! She just went into labor- her little girl is about to be born!"

Charlotte breathed a sigh of relief. Her mom wasn't asking about… well, _that_.

"But," Mrs. Page went on, "her mom is still in Spain with her coworkers, and, well, obviously her dad isn't going to rise from the dead. So I'm driving to Texas right now. I would have waited until the baby was born, but-"

"It's okay, mom!" Charlotte cut her mother off, relieved. "Erm, just take pictures of the baby to send to me."

"Okay, sweetie! Love you!"

"Love you too, mom." Charlotte hung up and turned to the boys. "Thank god. She's going to visit my cousin in Texas- hopefully she'll stay away long enough for us to…" Her voice trailed off. She wasn't sure what they needed to do.

Ray opened his arms and hugged her. Jasper joined in.

"How about," said the adult, "we try calling down there to see how things are going."

…

Schwoz leaned up against the wall of the Man Cave. The doctors had asked him as well as Gooch and Bork to step aside for a minute. All three of them could see things were going okay. Not as well as prefered- like not having Henry's life on the line at all- but okay.

Schwoz looked at his hand. No one had blown a bubble- they weren't made over to look different. They were too busy helping the doctors, although Schwoz did shove a superhero gumball into Ray's gloved palm before sending him upstairs where the kids were waiting. But there wasn't really anything left to hide, anyway- Jim Grim seemed to know everything now. Schwoz closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose,

Just then, the elevator door opened to reveal Ray. He decided to just come down instead of calling, but made the kids stay upstairs. He didn't want them to see Henry until he was at least patched up and stable. They were already worried sick- he wasn't going to traumatize them even more by letting them see Henry.

Yet, anyway.

Schwoz knew why Ray was here. He told him to get back into the elevator car and went to have a word with the doctors. A few minutes later, the inventor joined the superhero.

"I couldn't get all the details, but there's good news and there's bad news." Schwoz leaned up against the elevator door. "Henry has been patched up- his cuts are cleaned and closed, and they are finishing fixing his right leg right now. Physically, he'll be fine… eventually."

"So what's the good news?"

"Uh… that was the good news."

"Oh. I… Uh… Yeah. So what's the _bad_ news?"

"The bad news is that he's also going to be unconscious for who knows how long. But here is the funny part."

"Schwoz, you know for a fact that there's nothing _funny_ about any of this."

"I don't mean ha-ha funny, Ray. You know what I meant."

"I know."

"Anyway, the doctors said he should be awake, but they can't get him to wake up. It made me think of that time when he got blasted by a Dream Beam. But his body isn't shaking or making noises, so that's unlikely."

"Yeah. Also, that was a _gun_ he was shot at with. Which we both know because we both watched it happen."That last sentence triggered a huge wave of guilt right then for Ray.

"There might be another way to put him in a dream state without one."

"I guess you're right, but who knows?" Ray suddenly felt bile rise up in his throat and quickly swallowed it. "So now what?"

Schwoz shook his head. "I'll get you and Jasper and Charlotte down here as soon as they leave. But I'll be sure to get a list of his injuries so we can figure out how bad it is. That's all I can think of."

Ray shrugged. "I guess."

Charlotte and Jasper weren't any happier about waiting longer than they were about the situation in the first place, but stopped pouting when Ray went out and bought the three of them fro-yo. Neither of them said anything, but the frozen yogurt just reminded them of Henry. At least it tasted good.

After a while, the elevator door pinged and they heard Schwoz calling out to them that the medical staff had left. When he came into view, the inventor briefly explained that Gooch and Bork stayed downstairs and that they were going to have a routine schedule so Henry was never left alone.

Then Schwoz listed off Henry's injuries.

 **Well, Henry's still alive. So all hope isn't lost!**

 **I decided to set up a poll- I won't bore you with the details, but I'd really appreciate it if you guys vote. :) If you click on my pen name at the top it's on my profile.**

 **Thank you for all the reviews. :) I don't want to sound like a selfish butthead but please feel free to leave reviews, seeing them really makes me happy. :)**

 **Also, I read somewhere that Henry Danger is getting a fifth season! :):):)**

 **Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


	39. Chapter 39

Charlotte had never been a biter, but she was currently going to be lacking any fingernails for awhile on account off what Schwoz reported.

According to what the inventor was told by the doctors, Henry:

1\. Had a moderate concussion.

2\. Got some of his hair chopped off.

3\. Had a nicked left ear.

4\. Had a black eye (right).

5\. Had a worse black eye (left).

6\. Had a cut on his left cheek (upstairs cheek, not downstairs).

7\. Had a bruise on his right cheek (again, upstairs).

8\. Had six bruised ribs- the top two on his right side and the top on his left were extremely close to being broken.

9\. Had several little holes in his side where Jim Grim stepped on him with his spiked boots.

10\. Had a bullet wound where it grazed his right wrist.

11\. And another one on his upper right thigh.

12\. Had a wide cut on his upper left thigh.

13\. Had a huge bruise on his left knee.

14\. Had small cut on his left ankle.

15\. Had a bullet wound that was worse than the other two because it actually hit the bone.

16\. Had, to top it all off, a sprained ankle.

Schwoz didn't mention it, but Henry's Kid Danger suit was ruined. It was ripped in about a million different places, had holes and was covered in blood. In addition, his mask had been cut down the middle and was curling up a bit. At least it won't be like that the next time he blows a bubble.

Well, if.

Charlotte and Jasper were just about ready to have a mental breakdown (Ray had his earlier) when Schwoz added that he had something for them.

After about five minutes of rummaging through storage, Schwoz found the headband he used to lie to Henry's dad _as Henry_. He returned to the Man Cave and handed it to Charlotte. "I remember this," she said, briefly forgetting the situation as she examined it. Schwoz handed Jasper Henry's backpack, which had his phone in it.

"Yes. I set it up so it will automatically sound like Henry in case somebody wants to talk to him. Take it wherever you go. But don't mess with it or something might go wrong. So no using it to disguise your voice and crank call your teachers."

"Dang it," muttered Jasper, who had been planning on doing just that. Ray and Charlotte glared at him, although they both would've enjoyed it.

At that point, Schwoz fully explained that at least one or two pieces would stay at a Henry's side at all times. He then had everyone pull out their phones and put 911 as well as the numbers of the doctors who took the Superhero Oath on speed dial. Ray then got up and gave both teens- the two that weren't unconscious- a rather serious look.

"Alright, you two. Listen up: from here on out, there will be no walking. Not to school, not to work, not to anywhere else. I don't want anyone walking out in the open anymore, not even if they have a buddy." Ray shuffled over to the monitors and pulled of a map of the neighborhood where the three teens lived. "What time do you usually start walking to school and how long does it take?"

Charlotte and Jasper gave him both answers in shaking voices. Ray then told them that he would be coming to pick them up every morning.

A few more times- like when the last bell rang- were given before Ray grabbed his van keys and asked if everyone was ready to go.

Schwoz said he'd stay with Henry and insisted they go before the sun set. Jasper just nodded and started toward the elevator, but Charlotte wanted to get a closer look at her friend- she hasn't seen him up close since before he blew his Kid Danger bubble. Also, Schwoz had been standing in front of the boy when she finally got to come down.

Anyway.

Seeing her bestie almost triggered Charlotte's gag reflex. He looked awful. Despite what she had been told, a sudden fear evolved from her stomach and she was sure he wasn't going to make it.

 _Come on, Charlotte_ , she told herself. _Be positive._

 _Okay, I'm positive Henry's gonna-_

Charlotte didn't allow herself to finish that thought and shook her head as if she were trying to shake it out.

Ray noticed her facial expression and joined her. He gave her shoulder a small squeeze. "Hey, it'll be okay."

Didn't he say those same words when Henry was in a dream state? True, everything worked out- but that didn't mean history would repeat itself.

Charlotte didn't respond. She just walked to the elevator.

…

Since taking the Man Van would attract too much attention, Ray drove the kids home in his old van- the one that really needed to be cleaned. Charlotte mentioned that he might want to at least clean out all the trash, but otherwise no one really said anything except for "See ya tomorrow" before leaving or driving away.

Charlotte's hand was shaking as she unlocked her front door. Being the only one home had never been her favorite thing, but it had gone far, far beyond plain old creepy; she was terrified.

A few years before, Charlotte's parents took her to Disney World and let her ride the Tower of Terror. At first, she was absolutely ecstatic. However, when the big drop(s) came, she was scared out of her mind. It was because her butt literally wasn't even in physical contact with the seat anymore until the drop was over. (Yes, she had her seatbelt on.) She had never been so thankful to be holding her parent's hands. Although by the time they got off she was happy again.

That was how she felt; as afraid as a little kid on an extremely scary ride.

Even the weather matched her mood; by the time Ray was driving back to Junk N' Stuff, an unexpected thunderstorm rolled in.

But that wasn't the worst part.

Charlotte was eating leftover pizza in front of the TV, hoping to take her mind off of everything. (It didn't work all that well). When her cell phone suddenly rang, she jumped out of her skin before realizing her mom was calling her again. The conversation went something like this:

CHARLOTTE: _(Hiding her conflicting emotions:)_ Hey, Mom. How are things going?

MRS. PAGE: Hi, sweetie! Baby just came!

CHARLOTTE: _(Momentarily overjoyed:)_ Awesome! What's her name?

MRS. PAGE: Her name is Kayleigh, and...

Charlotte's mom started giving Charlotte Kayleigh's stats, but the teenager wasn't really listening. Normally she'd be anxious to hear what exactly the situation was and be ready to buy a ticket to Texas, but the whole Henry thing was quite a distraction.

Charlotte was about to tell her mom that she still had homework to do (a total lie), but then Henry's phone- which was sitting right next to her in case his family called- started to ring.

 _Shoot!_ Charlotte started quietly freaking out. _I can't talk to Mom and be Fake Henry at the same time!_

"Mom," Charlotte said as her mother paused to take a breath, "could we hang up? I have to, uh... pee."

"Sure, sweetie! I love you!"

"Love you too, mom! Bye!"

Knowing she didn't have enough time to put the headband on, Charlotte tossed her phone aside (literally) and answered Henry's phone as herself. "Hi, Mrs. Hart!"

"Oh, hi Charlotte! Is Henry there?"

"Yes! Er, I mean, yeah, he wasn't going to make it to the phone on time so I picked it up for him…" Charlotte, technically, was telling the truth. "I'll pass the phone over."

"Thank you, Charlotte!"

Charlotte put the phone on mute and set it down. Schwoz taught her and Jasper how to use it once, so she was able to quickly change her voice. Hearing Henry's voice coming out of her own mouth was painful, but she had to go through with it.

As soon as "Henry" was on the phone, his mom as well as his dad- the two of them as well as Piper were all in the car using the hands-free thing- starring exciting talking about how great things are going and how much they missed him. Even Piper said hi- and not in a mean way, either. Hearing that made Charlotte feel even worse.

But what the Hart's didn't know (besides the obvious) was that Charlotte had whipped out her Pear Pad and was writing down everything they were saying. She figured that when- well, if- Henry woke up he would need to know everything his parents we're telling Charlotte. If he spoke to them right after without any knowledge of what was up, his family would most likely suspect something.

After a few minutes, Charlotte gave the Harts the same excuse she gave her mother and they hung up. She went to bed afterwards.

She didn't get much sleep that night.

 **So Henry's still alive!**

 **I honestly couldn't resist putting in the "Tower of Terror" part, I actually wrote it from experience. Anyone who's ever ridden it knows what I'm talking about, the ride totally lived up to its name. Highly recommend it.**

 **Anyway, I hope your enjoyed this chapter!**

 **Which reminds me, I set up a poll (it's on my profile) last week and forgot to mention it when I first put the chapter up, so I went and added it in the author's note, but I don't know who ended up getting to see it. If you guys vote I'd really appreciate it. :)**

 **I guess that's it.**

 **Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


	40. Chapter 40

_Everything was perfect._

 _The weather outside was as wonderful as could be, and a couple of little bluebirds had even visited the window Charlotte was sitting next too._

 _She was alone. Bianca, Chloe, Stephanie and Debbie were just in the room before leaving for a quick bathroom break. They'd told Charlotte she should go, too, but she declined the offer. She decided to go ten minutes earlier_ before _putting her dressed for the big event._

 _Charlotte took off her right glove and stroked the soft white material the gorgeous gown was made out off. She wasn't sure who designed it, but it was absolutely lovely._

 _Charlotte couldn't help but smile to herself, knowing that, just a few rooms away, guests were chatting away, pictures were already being taken, there was a scrumptious-looking cake on a table outside, and, best of all, Henry was standing outside waiting for her._

 _Time flew by, especially once Bianca, Chloe, Stephanie and Debbie returned. There was a lot of fussing over Charlotte's amazingly gorgeous white gown as well as the four outfits the other girls were wearing- pale blue floor-length layered dresses._

 _After many, many, last minute edits- fixing makeup, using those fur roller things, straightening hair, putting gloves back on- it was time._

 _Once Charlotte got outside, the music began to play and people rose from their chairs. She could see her mom in the front row, crying a little. Henry's parents and sister were sitting next to her. Piper was holding up a camera; she had been given the job of live streaming the event. Her parents promised their son and Charlotte that they'd make sure she didn't stop recording to check her social media. "Or," they had told the little girl, "you will be placed next to Jasper during the ceremony, the reception, the dinner, photo shoots, and you will sit next to him on the drive home." So Charlotte was fairly positive that Piper wouldn't stop the live stream._

 _But Charlotte desperately wanted her to when she's as Henry._

 _Even though she had seen him earlier, she hadn't been prepared- or even told- about him. Henry's face was covered in blood, and scars ran across his face. Literally- the rows of stitches were trading places with each other._

 _Charlotte was so startled by the troubling sight that she tripped over her own feet and face-planted onto the walkway._

She didn't wake up until she was already on the floor. It took her a minute to realize that it was all just a dream. Then a thought crossed her head. _Why isn't Henry asking if I'm okay?_

She turned to face the bed he had been sleeping in for the past couple of nights. Even through the lack of light, she could see he want there. Reality hit her like a hammer as the day's events flooded her brain like a hurricane.

Well, actually they were yesterday's events. When Charlotte picked up her phone to check the time, it was already 5:31 in the morning. _There is,_ she thought, _no way I am getting back to sleep._

Charlotte turned on a bunch of lights around the house before inspecting her face. Her forehead hurt where it had hit the floor, but not too badly; she most likely didn't have a concussion. However, she could tell that a bruise was starting to show itself.

Which is why, after a shower, she found an old kit of stage makeup from her theatre geek phase (it lasted about a year, ending right before she turned seven- she decided that she preferred learning math and sciences and that stuff) and covered her face with base. As an added precaution, she straightened some of her hair and did it so her forehead is covered. It ended up looking pretty good.

Even though she had spent more time on her hair than usual, Charlotte had a lot of time to kill before Ray said he'd come to pick her up. She decided to text Jasper.

 _Charlotte: Hey Jasp what's up?_

 _Jasper: Nothing Much, Besides The Obvious. You Holding Up Over There? Cause I'm Not._

 _Charlotte: Me neither. I just wish we could skip school._

 _Jasper: My God, CHARLOTTE PAGE Doesn't Want To Go To SCHOOL?! Holy Shoot, The World Is Ending! The Dessert Will Freeze And The Polar Ice Caps Will Evaporate!_

 _Charlotte: Oh, shut UP, Jasper._

 _Jasper: Well, SOMEONE Woke Up On The Wrong Side Of The Bed This Morning._

 _Charlotte: Actually, I woke up on the floor at five-thirty in the morning. With a bruise on my forehead._

 _Jasper: Ouch. Wait, Did Someone, Like, Push You Or Something?_

 _Jasper: Should I Call Ray?_

 _Charlotte: No. At least, I don't think so, I was falling in a dream and just woke up on the floor. But now you've got me paranoid._

 _Jasper: Sorry. What Was The Dream About?_

 _Crap,_ thought Charlotte. She hadn't meant to bring it up- no way she was going to tell Jasper- or anyone else, for that matter- about the dream she had last night. Or any recent dreams, really.

 _Charlotte: I don't remember any of it except the falling part. There's a lot of facts and statistics about remember dreams._

 _Jasper: You Don't Need To Tell Me!_

Charlotte smirked to herself. She knew that would get him to drop the subject.

 _Jasper: I Gotta Finish Getting Ready For School, So TTYL._

 _Charlotte: Later._

Since the alternative was sitting around and worrying, Charlotte decide to flip the TV on. She was thinking about watching a rerun of _Swellview's Funniest Home Videos_ , but ending up watching the news instead.

MARY: Good Morning Swellview, and Happy Friday!

TRENT: Be quiet, Mary, and let me handle this.

MARY: Wha- Trent-

TRENT: Yesterday we received reports that everyone's favorite young man, Kid Danger, was severely injured at Swellview Park yesterday.

MARY: Yes, on Thursday security cameras captured video of-

TRENT: Mary, I told you to let me handle this!

MARY: _(Choosing to not dignify TRENT'S complaint with a response:)_ -a new mystery villain opening fire on both Captain Man and Kid Danger multiple times.

TRENT: _(Gives up on trying to push out Mary.)_ While Captain Man, as always, escapes with no injuries, Kid Danger was beat and bloody when Emergency Services came onto the scene.

MARY: Warning: the following video clip is beyond describing and may cause nightmares. Trent watched it last night and screamed so loud in his sleep I could hear it from my apartment.

TRENT: Mary, you have no proof that was me! Er, I mean-

 _(Cue KID DANGER SHOT VIDEO CLIP.)_

…

Charlotte wasn't sure whether or not to be shocked that the news station showed the video. But she knew one thing for sure; it traumatized her for life.

In the clip, Kid Danger was already covered in blood. He was crawling toward a bush- Charlotte assumed it was for some cover- as Jim Grim fired his gun at Captain Man. The video ended right after Jim Grim shot at Kid Danger, right as it was about to strike. Shaking, Charlotte turned off the TV.

After about eleven minutes of searching and securing the house, Charlotte's phone rang. It scared her so bad she screamed, but it was just Jasper telling her that he and Ray were close by.

Sighing, Charlotte picked up her backpack, went outside and locked the front door.

...

 **Geez, I turn my back for five seconds and you guys are catching up to me! I'm running out of ready chapters!**

 **Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


	41. Chapter 41

Since Ray already had Jasper when he picked up Charlotte, it didn't take long to arrive at school. He didn't really bother trying to avoid being seen since Mrs. Page was in a different state.

Both teens noticed that Ray had actually thrown away a bunch of the trash that littered his van. Charlotte commented on it, and Ray shrugged and said, "I needed a distraction" in response.

Charlotte and Jasper were given instructions to tell the teachers that Henry had the flu- a lie they had to believe. Schwoz was going to hack into the school's attendance records so it would show that he was present; if anyone missed even one class, the principal always called their parent(s) to let them know.

Nothing much happened until history class.

First, Ms. Shapen freaked out and made the students wipe down their desks and chairs with anti bacterial wipes because, as she put it, "If I have to stay home sick, then I lose money!"

About midway through class, Charlotte and Jasper both got a text from Schwoz reminding them to spread the lie like a virus. (Those were his actual words.) Now, Charlotte had actually managed to keep busy enough to forget about the situation, but Schwoz's text was like the hammer of reality hitting her in the face.

Hard.

Exactly seven seconds after getting the text, Charlotte asked for a bathroom pass.

Three minutes passed. Then four, five.

After Charlotte had been gone a solid seven minutes, Jasper requested the other pass.

He quietly walked down the silent hallways. The nearest pair of bathrooms were only a few yards away. As he passed the girls room, he could hear voices and giggling. Jasper wasn't, well, Henry, but he knew Charlotte hadn't asked to leave because she had to go.

A thought popped into his head and he speed walked to the other side of the school to the bathrooms in the cafeteria. Sure enough, they were silent except for a quiet, but audible, sniffling.

The last Jasper wanted was to go into the girl's room, especially given what happened the last time he did so, but he cared about his friend. He just didn't know how to announce his presence until it slipped out.

"Charlotte? Moaning Myrtle much?" Charlotte jumped a mile into the air and almost banged her head on the sink she was sitting under when she realized Jasper had cracked open the main bathroom door and was peeking in.

"Go away, Jasper. Unless you want to go to prison again."

Jasper ignores her and sat down in front of his friend, his forehead touching the sink. (Can't help but wonder how many diseases he's going to get from doing that.) "Charlotte, I know this is a stupid question, but are you okay?"

She glared at him. "Wow," she said sarcastically, "for once, you were right. That was a stupid question." The sarcastic tone died (yeah, that was a bad choice of words) out as she struggled to keep it together. "Does it look like I'm okay?! Jasper my c- best friend-" Charlotte wanted to kick herself after almost calling Henry her crush- "was literally in a gunfight and lost. He may never wake up again, and I had a huge fight with him and he must have been distracted and-"

"Hold up- Charlotte, are you trying to say it's all your fault?!" That did it. Charlotte was completely crying now.

"Jasper- _sniff_ \- Henry's a great fighter, and- _sniff_ \- he was really- _choke_ \- upset when he left and I think he just could focus because I was scared but I really did think he might…" Charlotte buried her face in her hands.

Jasper scooted a bit so he was sitting next to her. He bit his lip. "Charlotte, I need to tell you something." She looked up.

"I promised Hen I wouldn't tell, but…" Jasper took a deep breath. "Charlotte, Henry likes you."

Charlotte's expression changed from upset to a complete mix. "What?"

"Henry likes you. Like, _like_ likes you."

"Since when?! How did you-"

"Whoa, calm down! Look, I just figured it out, okay? I asked him about it when you weren't around. He tried to deny it, I guess cause, well, we've all been friends for a while and all that, but I finally got him to admit it-"

Charlotte suddenly seized his arm. "Jasper, when EXACTLY did this conversation happen?"

"Uh…"

"Spit it out!"

"A few days ago, when you were inside your house before we went to the Pond."

Charlotte slumped down a little as Jasper went, "Do you like him?"

She knit her fingers together. After a moment of silence, she thought, Why not? "Yeah, but what's the use? He might-" Charlotte's voice cracked and she couldn't spit it out. "This isn't some novel, Jasper. We don't know that there's going to be a happy ending."

"But there might be." Charlotte shrugged in response but didn't say anything.

"C'mon, Charlotte. Henry's always been there for you. Like that time after his tenth birthday party and Piper's cake gave you food poisoning? He actually skipped school to stay home with you. He'll come around, I promise."

Charlotte scooted in closer and Jasper wrapped her in a hug.

After a minute of silence, Jasper mentioned that they had better get back to class before someone realized how long they've been gone. Not to mention the fact that Jasper was in the girl's room. Again.

Jasper waited outside while Charlotte splashed some cold water on her face. When she came out, she looked like she had just, well, gone to the bathroom. (Although, she actually had before Jasper showed up- the power of the environment kicked in.)

…

When Ray picked Charlotte and Jasper up after school, he just went, "Nothing new to report. How was school, kids?"

They responded to his question with a story that Henry was supposedly out sick with the flu. Everyone bought it. The remainder of the ride was silent.

Bork was sitting next to Henry when they arrived in the Man Cave. According to Gooch, who had been trying to track down Jim Grim (with no success) throughout the day, a couple of doctors had come by to switch out bandages and stuff but said they weren't seeing any difference.

Jasper went back upstairs, and Charlotte was helping Gooch when Ray came out from the sprocket door holding a tube of gumballs, followed by Schwoz.

"But," the inventor was whining, "I don't see why I can't do it!"

"Because," said Ray. He turned to face Charlotte and Gooch, who had turned around to watch the drama unfold. "Charlotte, I've got a job for you."

"Ray, I'm not cleaning your bathroom again. Schwoz can do that." She turned back around, but Ray put a hand on the chair she was sitting it and spun it around. "Not this time. Charlotte, we have an emergency: Jeff is at a playground."

Charlotte was, by any and all standards, a genius, but she could not figure out why Ray was telling her this and waving a tube of gum in her face. "Okay, so go stop him." She turned back to her work.

Ray tuned the chair around again. "Charlotte, you are coming with me."

"Wh- no way!" Charlotte jumped up from the chair and backed away. "Don't you remember what happened the _last_ time I went with you on a mission?!"

"Charlotte, you got a tad muddy."

"A _tad_?!"

"Fine, wayway muddy. But listen: as far as the public knows, Kid Danger is fighting for his life right now."

Charlotte turned to face Henry- Kid Danger. "But he is."

"You didn't let me finish. This means plenty of villains are going to see a perfect opportunity to strike. We need to show everyone that Kid Danger is alive and well."

Charlotte gave Ray her best dude-did-you-forget-to-take-your-meds-today? look. "But… he's not."

"Which is where you come in."

"Ray, do you really think anyone is going to believe that I am Kid Danger?"

"Which is where Schwoz comes in. A little project of his finally came in handy. Now take a gumball and chew it."

Charlotte took one, but hesitated before blowing a bubble.

She did not expect the results she got, let alone the reactions.

"Uh… why is everyone staring at me?" She looked at Ray, who pulled out his phone and set it to camera mode. Only after looking in the "mirror" did Charlotte understand.

She screamed so loud and sudden that Gooch fell out of his chair in surprise, causing Ray to laugh and Schwoz to snort like a pig before going to help him up.

Charlotte was… Henry. Kid Danger, to be more specific. Everything, down to the zit Henry was in the process of getting rid of last week was there. She looked just like him.

Everyone was putting the pieces of the puzzle together.

Meanwhile, the only difference was that the boots were platformed to make her appear Henry's height.

Also meanwhile, Ray blew his own bubble while everyone was staring at Charlotte and was now Captain Man. All the heads followed hers and were on the superhero.

"Let's move."

Charlotte grabbed the voice changer headband out of her backpack before running to the tubes.

 _This,_ she thought, _is not how I thought I'd be starting my weekend._

 **Man, I turn my back for... I dunno, time, and suddenly I'm running out of ready chapters!**

 **I'm still trying to see if I can find where Nick confirmed Charlotte's last name, once I do I'll find a time to correct her name throughout the story.**

 **So Charlotte is definitely going on an adventure here!**

 **Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


	42. Chapter 42

To say that Charlotte was nervous would be Understatement Of The Year. Her gut was all twisted up- like she had eaten a couple cans of frosting as a snack- as Ray drove the Man Van to a park that was on the opposite side of town from Swellview Park. Charlotte, Henry and Jasper used to play there all the time; there were slides, swings, a giant rope net in the shape of a cone, and other stuff where Jeff was shown to be located. A playground fight- that should be interesting.

Captain Man mentioned to his fill-in sidekick that she shouldn't worry too much, to which Charlotte replied: "Of course I'm not worrying- my best friend is in a coma or something." She was being sarcastic, of course.

Captain Man went, "Um, actually I was talking about Jeff." He paused for a moment while making a turn. "Anyway, I'm fairly sure that this'll be easy as a first grade math test."

Charlotte didn't say anything for a moment. "Bad metaphor?" Ray asked her.

Her inner smart alec kicked in right then and there. "That was a simile, Ray, not a metaphor. A metaphor is like a simile, but without the use of the words _like_ or _as_."

"Whatever, Kid Danger. Which by the way, you need to adjust to responding to before we get there. No pressure." _No pressure, my butt_ , thought Charlotte. "But my point is, this shouldn't be too hard." Ray put his blinker on.

"I guess."

"Charlotte, if you're really that worried about facing Jeff, then just… just stay back. Once the people see- well, _think_ \- that Kid Danger is okay you'll be done."

"Yeah, there's a flaw in your plan. Don't you think that people _might_ find it a _little weird_ when 'Kid Danger' just stands there?"

"Good point, Char. I guess then you'll just have to fight."

"Hey, another flaw! Ray, I _can't_ fight. If someone at school came up to me and was all, "Hey, Charlotte, let's brawl!" in the middle of the hall, I'd lose before anything could actually happen. Also, that gumball may have made me _look_ like the actual Kid Danger, but it didn't give me his height nor his superpower. Shoot. _Shoot_. Forget this, I'm dead." She said something like that, anyway.

"Be careful what you say out there, Kid Danger. Got the headband?" Charlotte nodded and held it up as evidence. It's a good thing she picked it up, or they would left the Man Cave without it. "Good. Not put it on and set it to Invisibility Mode."

"Okay, I'll- hold up, this thing has an invisibility mode?"

"Yeah, something Schwoz added but never had a use for before now. Guess he forgot to tell you about it." Charlotte shrugged and slipped the headband on. After pressing a few buttons, she appeared to not be wearing any headgear and sounded like Henry/Kid Danger. It hurt, but there was no turning back.

Especially since a bunch of people had seen the Man Van and were rushing toward it as Captain Man parked.

Muttering to his fill in sidekick to just ignore them for now, Captain Man slammed his door shut. Charlotte followed after him towards the playground.

Meanwhile, there were shouts of "It's Kid Danger!" ringing all around. So far, the public bought it.

So far.

…

Swellview Park had two playgrounds: the first one, the newer one, was the one where Kid Danger battled Drex (and won). The second one was roughly a year older and had a couple more attractions, such as the net that was in the shape of a cone for climbing. That had always been one of Charlotte's favorites. Henry loved it, too. It was also right next to a small pond (not Swellview Pond or the Pond. It was only about five feet wide, but ten feet deep. Legend has it that it was supposed to become a wishing well, but that's not the point).

Jeff- idiotic, stupid Jeff- had gone to the playground to cover everything in glue. Someone called Captain Man on him right when the bottle of Elmer's- seriously, he used one little bottle of Elmer's Glue- ran out. The only thing covers in glue was the base on that cone net.

Wow.

To his credit, however, Jeff was smart enough to realize that Kid Danger- who he assumed was on a deathbed- wa standing right in front of him. Well, someone who looked like Kid Danger, anyway.

"Well, well, well," said Jeff with a sneer. A very Jeff-like, sneer, to be exact. "If it isn't… uh… what's your name again?"

Okay… why was I nervous about this? Charlotte rolled her eyes. "Kid Danger," she said, her snarkiness temporarily blocking out the pain of having to be Henry/Kid Danger. "Also known as the gir- guy! Guy who's about to kick your butt." Charlotte almost kicked her own butt. Kid Danger calling himself a girl wouldn't seem tooweird, or anything.

Jeff must have known he was in trouble, because he chose that moment to try and make his escape.

"Escape" meaning spitting on Charlotte and running.

Muttering curse words under her breath, "Kid Danger" chased after him. _I,_ she thought, _cannot believe I am chasing the world's stupidest "criminal" around._ a another thought crossed her mind: _Where the heck is Ray?!_

Well, _heck_ wasn't the exact word she used, but that's not the point.

A brief look over her shoulder confirmed that Ray was nowhere to be seen. Which meant Charlotte was on her own.

 _Yay…_

Muttering something about how she was going to kill Ray later, Charlotte kept running. Jeff had reached the little jungle gym and was climbing inside.

Seriously.

Jeff was lucky to have the head start he had, because, even without Hyper Motility, Charlotte was a much faster runner. Jeff, however, managed to reach the slide and slide down. "Kid Danger" would've just jumped off the slide, but it was the tall one that curved around and she couldn't summon up the courage and ended up wasting a few seconds.

By the time she had finally slid down, Jeff had grabbed hold of the bar that was part of the zipline-like attraction and used it to (more or less) fly a few feet forward.

Which was a completely idiotic move, a) because he was too tall, and b) it almost broke. Jeff realized that "Kid Danger" was catching up to him and started climbing the cone net.

Charlotte chased after him, which is when it happened.

Jeff tried climbing up the ropes but couldn't find the energy to do so. He did, however, manage to kick "Kid Danger" square in the gut right into the little pond.

Charlotte was a good swimmer- she knew how to not drown and all that- but after almost getting pulled to the bottom of the Pond a few days ago wasn't good for her mental state.

In fact, it scared the crap outta her to be under the surface again.

Charlotte had always been able to keep a levalhead- if something was about to blow up she'd be the one to calmly go unplug it- but she completely panicked. Water went down her throat when she screamed, the sound muffled. After a few seconds, she felt a hand grab her's and yank her out.

A flash of blue caught her eye, and for a second she actually thought Henry had come to rescue her.

Unfortunately not.

After a minute of puking up water for the second time in less than a week, Charlotte heard a voice-not Henry's- talking to her.

"Kid? You alright?

"Captain Ma-" Charlotte gasped- and almost choked on water- when she heard her own voice cone out of her mouth. She grabbed the headband- which wasn't invisible anymore- and groaned.

"We'll have to get Schwoz to make that thing water proof. Keep quiet, let's go."

Captain Man pulled her up and they started toward the Man Van. Charlotte glanced over her shoulder. Interestingly enough, most of the crowd has turned away to watch the cops- _When did_ they _show up?_ \- drag Jeff away. No one saw the headband or heard Charlotte talking.

 _Good._

…

"They totally bought it!"

That's how Jasper greeted Charlotte when she and Captain Man returned. "Hold up, what's with the towel?"

"Fell into that little thing of water while chasing Jeff." Captain Man took out his gumball tube and got one out. Within a minute he was Ray again.

Jasper turned back to Charlotte as he handed her Henry's gumball tube, his eyes wide with concern. "You okay?"

"Yeah, wasn't under as long this time. Ray found a towel in the Man Van. Most everyone was watching Jeff get cuffed." Charlotte gratefully accepted the gum and within seconds looked normal again. "Hey, where is everybody?"

Ray and Charlotte looked around, unable to see anyone and immediately tensed up.

"Whoa," said Jasper quickly, "don't worry, they're all here. Bork is training, Gooch is upstairs and Schwoz is working on something downstairs in the same storage unit Drex is in. That's what he said, anyway. I think he's actually shooting spit wads at everybody's least favorite villain."

Ray snorted. "I'll have to try that sometime. So did the news say anything about what happened earlier?"

"Yeah." Jasper led them to the monitors, where a paused video was waiting. "Interrupted some breaking news about a car crash or something. Breaking news cutting off breaking news. Welcome to Swellview." Jasper unpaused the video, and the room was filled with the voices of Trent and Mary.

 **For cliffhanger reasons the next episode of _Trent and Mary Arguing on Camera_ (I so wish that was a real thing!) will be next week.**

 **Also, I've been going some mental math and I am 95% sure than this fic will still be going when June rolls around, but I can't make any for sure guarantees. I'm pretty sure...**

 **I guess that's it.**

 **Ciao, and Happy Reading! (I've typed that so many times my iPad knows what to put in the suggestions box...)**


	43. Chapter 43

**Happy Mother's Day!**

 **I totally forgot to mention this last week: I finally was able to watch the video that confirmed Charlotte's last name being Page from a person on the Henry Danger wiki (thank you, Checker Fred!)**

 **I also forgot to put comment responses...**

 **PicassoPenguin: the first part of your Chapter 39 review made me giggle, the second paper made me nod in agreement (even though I knew you couldn't see me… right?), which made me see the first part and giggle again.**

 **Everyone Reading This: Please don't hate me for what happens in this chapter.**

TRENT: Hello, everyone. We have some breaking news.

MARY: Trent, I was just explaining-

TRENT: Not that, Mary. We have breaking reports about Kid Danger.

MARY: What is it?

TRENT: _(As a Pear Pad is handed to Mary:)_ Alright. Yesterday everyone's favorite young man, Kid Danger, was shot multiple times by a mysterious new villain.

MARY: Yes, Trent, he was obviously very injured when paramedics arrived on the scene, but was seen today successfully fighting well-known mediocre villain Jeff alongside Captain Man.

…

Jasper hit the PAUSE button. "So the public clearly believes it. Great job, Charlotte."

Charlotte smiled, although she had a few things to say about Mary's comment. _Alongside, my butt._ Captain Man didn't even help her until the end. She was about to say so when Gooch called from upstairs.

"Hey Gooch, what's up?"

"Ray, Nicole wants to come down."

"Who's Nicole?" Jasper looked at Charlotte, assuming Nicole was someone who worked with them that he hadn't meant yet. But Charlotte just shrugged.

Ray looked puzzled for a moment before going, "Shoot, this can't be good. Send her down." He said something like that, anyway.

"Ray?" Jasper looked really concerned. "Who's Nicole?"

"Should we hide?" added Charlotte.

Ray shook his head. "No, you can stay here. Guys, Nicole is one of those people who contacts families when someone is in an accident or dies. I found her and had her take the oath when I hired Henry, just in-"

Ray was cut off by the sound of the elevator and a very high pitched scream.

A second later, a woman was climbing to her feet. She had on a blue shirt with jeans, a blue hoodie and blue slip on shoes. Her socks weren't visible, but they were blue. She also had a streak of blue in her blond hair.

Nicole's favorite color was blue, for anyone who hasn't already figured that out.

"Ray, you still haven't gotten that elevator fixed?" She finally regained her balance and walked towards him.

"Sorry, Nikki. Should've had Gooch warn you." Ray gave her a quick hug that she returned.

Charlotte and Jasper raised their eyebrows at each other. _Is she Ray's girlfriend or something, too?_

Nichole and Ray turned to face the two teens. "Guys, this is Nicole."

"Or Nikki, I don't really care which."

"Or Nikki, she doesn't really care which." Nicole rolled her eyes playfully before her expression returned to grim. "Nikki, this is Charlotte and Jasper. They work here, too."

A few hellos were exchanged before Nicole asked them to sit down. She stayed standing, but Ray could tell that her knees were locked and made her sit on the top of the couch. Ray knew that when Nicole was delivering bad news her knees locked, which made him beyond nervous.

"So… Nik, what's going on?"

Nicole took a deep breath. "Ray… is Henry still unconscious? He hasn't woken up at all?"

Ray nodded. His nod was half sad and half nervous. "Nothing new. Why?"

"Oh, my lord… so, um… did any of you see the news report earlier? About the car crash?"

"Kinda," spoke up Jasper. "They didn't get very far before getting cut off by the story of how 'Kid Danger' was okay and stuff." He made quotation marks with his fingers on the words "Kid Danger" that accidentally showed off how sweaty his hands were.

"Oh, my lord," Nicole repeated. "Well… the crash…"

The genius figured it out first. "Holy shoot, are you trying to tell us it was his family?!" Charlotte cried. "Please tell me that's not what you're trying to tell us!"

Nicole would have been crying at this point, but she's had to deliver horrible news too many times already. "I'm sorry, but yes…"

The room went silent.

Seriously. For a solid minute (and ten seconds) no one said a word of made any sounds besides heavy breathing.

After the shock passed, they started completely bombarding Nicole with questions after it. She had to yell three times for them to calm down. Only she and Ray knew that something was only really bad when Nick raised her voice.

This is what they found out:

A driver had slammed into the Hart's car while they were driving through Bordertown this morning. The reason was still unclear, as the driver was arrested but was remaining silent. They hadn't performed drug and alcohol tests yet, or maybe they had and were waiting for results. He had a bruise and cut here and there, but nothing serious. Some cops caught him trying to flee the scene, but he stepped on a stick and cut his foot, slowing him down.

As for the Harts...

Henry's dad passed away almost the same second of the impact. One of the first responder trainees that came to watch thought that Mr. Hart might have actually had some sort of problem with his heart or something that happened right before, but that was really just a theory from an ametur student.

Henry's mom was still alive for a bit longer, but she was unconscious the whole time. Her heart finally stopped just outside the Emergency Room, when she ran out of blood to pump. And Piper…

Piper was still alive. But barely. She didn't get the worst of it since she was in the backseat, but that didn't help much. She was actually still conscious when the paramedics arrived and didn't doze off until after being admitted to a room. Somehow while sleeping she slipped into a coma and the doctors weren't sure when she will wake up.

Or _if_.

Charlotte had a thought: _Henry and Piper are in the same situation- just for different reasons._ Then the water works started.

After a few minutes, all three people were crying. Nicole left to give them some privacy- also because she had to go tell the driver's family there kid or whatever the relation was had landed himself in prison. She had a hard job.

…

After about fifteen minutes, the number of people crying increased to six. As soon as Nicole left, Gooch called down, wanting to know what was happening. Charlotte called Schwoz, and Jasper called Bork. They needed to hear the news.

They were also facing another problem: Charlotte's mom.

Mrs. Page was definitely going to find out soon, one way or another. She might even come right home, and that wouldn't be good. She had no idea that Henry was in a coma. None.

Suddenly, Charlotte couldn't hold it in anymore. She screamed.

Everyone else jumped about a mile into the air and Charlotte screamed her head off and pounded the table with her fists. The boys backed off, but after a minute Jasper slowly approached and held his arms out. Charlotte accepted the hug, her screams turned into a choked sobbing.

Ray joined in. Then Schwoz, Bork and Gooch. The cry fest was far from over.

…

By the time Charlotte was in bed, shivering because a sudden cold front had moved in, Mrs. Page still hadn't heard about what happened. Charlotte herself didn't know for sure, but she thinks her mom would have called to say she was coming home, or something. Mrs. Page would never just show up unannounced, even to her own house.

Meanwhile, Charlotte was losing hope.

Not only was Henry possibly not going to ever wake up again, Piper now had the same problem, and both of them were orphans now. Charlotte was losing hope that either of them would ever open their eyes again.

If Henry died, then Mrs. Page and Piper- if she made it- and the rest of Henry's family and friends would know. They might even find out he was Kid Danger. Charlotte was losing hope that the secret would stay safe for very much longer.

Jim Grim was still at large. For all they knew, he could be in Washington D.C. about to assassinate the president. Charlotte was losing hope that he would ever be caught and taken back to jail.

Jasper, Ray, Gooch, Schwoz and Bork were falling apart beside her. Charlotte was losing hope that they were losing hope.

By the time she fell asleep, she was feeling pretty hopeless.

 **So… I did that.**

 **Yeah, this chapter was definitely a tad depressing. No spoilers from me, but I swear on my TV remote that I wrote this chapter the way I did for a reason, this while new problem isn't just for nothing.**

 **Meanwhile, I'm still trying to figure out what I'm going to do for my next story, mainly if I'm going to do a crossover or not. If anyone has an opinion I have a poll set up, feel free to vote or say something in a review.**

 **Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


	44. Chapter 44

**PicassoPenguin: Congratulations, you left a review that completely stumped me on what to say in response! Hopefully you'll like this chapter better ;).**

 **Everyone Reading This: Congratulations, you have stumbled upon one of the longer chapters!**

 **Fasten your seatbelts!**

Since it was Saturday and there was no school, Charlotte slept in until almost nine. When she did wake up, she was in a good mood for about fourteen and a half seconds before reality came crashing down on her and she almost fell out of the bed. She grabbed her phone to check for updates. Nothing from no one.

Instead of getting out of bed like she normally would have, Charlotte lied back down and stared at the ceiling for awhile. _A broken girl staring at the ceiling,_ she thought. _Broken_ as in _heart_ broken. _Or_ Hart broken _, actually._

Sighing, Charlotte finally sat up and ran her hand through her hair.

Her phone dinged, making her jump a mile into the air. Her heart raced, thinking her mom had found out about what happened, or something was wrong (wronger than the situation was already, anyway), but it was just Jasper.

 _Jasper: Charlotte? You Alright?_

 _Charlotte: Yeah, just slept in. I'm okay. Nothing new._

 _Jasper: Hmmm, Suddenly I'm Skeptical That You Aren't Charlotte. Prove It._

Charlotte knew Jasper was just being cautious, but she couldn't resist teasing him a little.

 _Charlotte: You first._

 _Jasper: No, You._

 _Charlotte: No._

 _Jasper: FINE._

Jasper sent a selfie. Charlotte could tell by the background that he was in the Man Cave. Charlotte responded with a selfie of her own, not really caring that she had a bit of a bed head. She knew how to get into his phone and delete it.

 _Charlotte: Happy now?_

 _Jasper: No, And You Know Why._

 _Charlotte: I didn't need that._

 _Jasper: Sorry. Oh, And Also, Ray Wants To Know When You're Coming._

 _Charlotte: Soon, just woke up. I was thinking about stopping by the bakery on my way._

 _Jasper: Ray Says He's Okay With That As Long As You Get Jim Something._

 _Jasper: Shoot That Was Supposed To Say "Him" I'm Sorry, Char._

 _Jasper: Did My Phone Just Replace A Swear Word?!_

 _Charlotte: Yeah, okay. I'll be there soon._

 _Jasper: See Ya._

…

Charlotte walked into the Man Cave with a brown _Schneider's Bakery_ bag in her hand, the top of the bag crumpled by her fist.

Her eyes were the lightest shade of red known to man because while she was there she considered buying something for Henry before remembering what was happening. She had to run to the bathrooms before the girl behind the counter could see her crying.

Fortunately she knew that cold water would help hide the fact that she had burst into tears earlier. Ray and Jasper didn't even notice, and just said hey when she walked out of the elevator.

"Hey, guys."

Ray and Jasper were playing Speed, which surprised Charlotte. Ray didn't like Jasper very much and they all knew it. Maybe the whole experience of the last few days has brought them together.

Charlotte wordlessly tossed Ray the nut cluster she bought, making him drop his cards trying to catch it. Jasper triumphantly put his last card down and said "Speed" all nonchalantly, making Ray roll his eyes. "Loser shuffles," added Jasper, grinning a little. "Anything in that bag for me?"

That, obviously, was directed at Charlotte. She ripped off part of the donut she was about to bite into and handed it over. "Don't think this means I'm going to start bringing you guys breakfast everyday."

Ray nodded in understanding as he finished shuffling the cards. "Wanna play three-way?"

…

Nine games of speed later (Charlotte: six. Ray: one. Jasper: two), Jasper went upstairs to man the store with Gooch- it suddenly turned into one of those busy days Junk N' Stuff occasionally gets. Ray mentioned that he promised Bork they would spar and asked Charlotte to watch Henry while he went to find him. Charlotte (reluctantly) agreed.

For a moment, she just stared at him. Henry looked much better than he had the day he came back from the fight with Jim Grim, since all the blood had been cleaned off. He was wearing normal clothes, even though ideally he'd be in a hospital gown since he was… you know. Aside from the stitches and bruises that were everywhere, he looked almost… normal. Like he was asleep.

Charlotte couldn't think of anything else to do but talk. She told Henry about her new baby cousin, and…

Actually, that was it. Charlotte couldn't think of anything else _to_ talk about. Henry knew almost everything about her, and what happened that she was involved with or around for.

There was only one thing left to say. (More or less.)

"Henry, I know you're in there. Please wake up. I need you, Ray needs you, Jasper needs you, Gooch needs you, Schwoz needs you, Bork needs you, your family needs you." She decided not to mention that his parents were… _that_ , even though she wasn't sure if he could hear her. "Come on, Hen. Please open your eyes. Please…"

No response. Charlotte could feel tears start to flood her eyes again. She rubbed them, but it was no use.

That's when something happened. Something that even Henry wouldn't have expected had he been awake, or watching as a ghost or something.

Charlotte began to sing.

One thing that Charlotte never told even Henry is that she secretly loves to turn on her music and use her hairbrush as a microphone. She just found it embarrassing, and any situation that involved her singing in front of people was a big no-no.

But not today, apparently.

She wasn't horrible, but she wasn't a pop star, either. It was just for fun.

But all of a sudden, a song from a movie soundtrack just started coursing through her head. More specifically, a song for the credits of the movie that she watched with Henry just on Wednesday night, the day before the incident with Jim Grim. Even though nothing was actually playing, Charlotte could hear every note loud and clear. She took a deep breath and didn't try to stop the sound that came out.

Charlotte had never been much for music, but she could've won an award right then. At some point in the song there were a bunch of "Oh"s, but all Charlotte could mange right then were a few choked sobs. But she wasn't one to leave something half-finished.

…

Charlotte didn't move for a full thirty seconds. Then, she leaned down and kissed Henry. On the lips.

She grabbed hold of his hand, wishing that his fingers would move.

Imagine her surprise when they did.

She cried out and jumped back, letting go of his arm, which landed on the table he was on. She stared as his fingers curled up.

"Henry?!" It sounded more like a gasp. She tried again, and it came out better. "Henry?"

Just then, his eyes fluttered open.

"Henry!" Charlotte started crying again- this time with tears of joy. He was awake! Henry was awake.

"Char?" _Omigod, Henry is talking! Even if his voice is a bit rusting from not using it for a bit._ "Have you ever considered doing choir?"

Charlotte's jaw dropped. "Holy shoot, you heard that?!"

"Just the last bit…" Henry yawned and closed his eyes again.

"Oh my- Henry, try to stay awake, okay? Keep those eyes open! I'll be right back!"

Charlotte took off before realizing that she didn't know where anyone was, except for Gooch and Jasper, but she didn't want to go upstairs. She grabbed the P.A. microphone and yelled "RAY! Get over here! Henry's awake!"

Within two seconds Charlotte heard footsteps as Ray sprinted to the Man Cave, followed by Schwoz and Bork, who heard the announcement.

"Henry?!" Ray leaned over his sidekick, who had managed to keep his eyes open. "Kid! You're okay!" Charlotte's jaw dropped when Ray actually started crying little tears of joy.

Bork picked up Schwoz and spun him around, overjoyed. Charlotte called upstairs and told them to come down.

Soon, everyone was crying, cheering and trying to give Henry gentle hugs without making him sit up. Charlotte was too busy jumping up and down in joy to realize that Henry might know that she… well, you know!

With some help, Henry managed to sit up and Bork stood behind him with a hand for support in case he tipped over. This made giving hugs a lot easier, they just had to be light.

And then Henry asked what had happened while he was out.

Which meant two things; one, he remembered (or mostly remembered) what happened to him, and, two, he was going to find out about his family.

Ray turned and gave everyone a look that clearly stated not to say anything about the Hart's who were in a car wreck. Charlotte took a step closer to him.

"Nothing much, we… we looked everywhere for Jim Grim but had no luck. But we can catch him. All of us." Her hand found a place on the table, and his covered it. Jasper saw this but just went, "Hen, do you remember what happened?"

"Uh… most of it. We were fighting Jim Grim and-" that's when Henry was cut off by a high pitched shriek that was his own. "Oh my-"

Ray freaked out and had him lie back down, telling him to be quiet. But Henry was clearly trying to say something. It wasn't until after the Kid was on his back again when Ray went, "Henry, what is it!"

"Ray… Ray Ray Ray Ray Ray Ray-

"Spit it out, Henry!"

"Ray, right before I passed out… I felt someone lift up my mask."

 **Dun dun duuuuuuuuuuuun! So Henry's finally awake!**

 **But, another problem! That can't be good.**

 **Truthfully, I was kinda hesitant to include the Charlotte-singing part. I was afraid it might seem a little out of character, even though she sang that one time.**

 **Soooooo... I completely forgot that we weren't allowed to use song lyrics not in the public domain (my bad), but I read over the terms again and fixed it. My bad, y'all.**

 **Funny story, that part was one of my first ideas for this fic. Have any of you ever visited the Henry Danger Fandom Wiki? Before the episode** _ **Swellview's Got Talent**_ **aired, someone had written in the plot something about Charlotte singing and I went, "OMG, that's perfect!" Which, as it turns out, didn't actually happen, but I was stuck on the idea.**

 **Also, thank all of you who are reading this for sticking around so long, I really appreciate it! But the story's not over yet!**

 **Also, I'm sorry, my iPad kept doing something funky and I'd lose editing progress and it took longer to eat this posted than I thought.**

 **Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


	45. Chapter 45

For eight seconds, the room was silent. Then panic rolled in and everybody started yelling.

In all the chaos and hysteria, Charlotte was the only one who noticed that Henry had fallen back asleep. This caused her to freak out (more), thinking he was in a coma again, but Ray was able to easily shake him awake.

That's when Jasper suddenly yelled, "HEY, HOLD UP, YOU GUYS!" Surprisingly, everybody listened, even Ray. "Guys, I think Jim Grim had to already know who Kid Danger is. The rat was his, wasn't it? Maybe he just wanted to confirm what he already knew."

Schwoz mentioned that it could've been a bystander, but then Ray pointed out that there weren't any.

It dawned on him just then that maybe it was one of the henchmen, but didn't say anything so he wouldn't cause more panic.

The room calmed down. But not for long.

"You guys," Charlotte straightened up, "we need to find Jim Grim, fast. And shouldn't we call the oath doctors and get them down here?"

Everyone agreed to both parts.

Within the next hour, some doctors came to confirm that Henry wouldn't fall unconscious again. One of them also mentioned that she heard a rumor that the Man Fans president- the doctor didn't know who it was- had posted a promise to collect blood donations for Kid Danger as soon as she was back in town from something. _That_ made the room go quiet, but the docs didn't notice.

Meanwhile, Charlotte and Schwoz found enough credible sightings to confirm that, for some reason, Jim Grim was still in Swellview.

Which gave Charlotte an idea.

…

"Are you guys sure about this?" Henry looked worried. Which makes total sense, after hearing Charlotte's plan. "I mean, it _is_ a good plan, but you know what happened to me."

Charlotte walked over to the table, where Henry was sitting up with some help from Bork again. "We know, Hen. But I really think it could work."

"So do I, it's just…" Henry's voice trailed off and he hesitated. Neither he nor Charlotte had said a word about the argument they had before the first fight with Jim Grim, and he didn't want to start it again.

Charlotte put her hand over his. "Henry, we know that Jim Grim is beyond dangerous. Even worse than Drex was before you defeated him. Which is exactly why we can't let him escape- or everyone he encounters is at risk." Henry nodded, knowing she had a point. He then nodded to Bork to help him lie down again- his bruised ribs were making it hard to breathe without it hurting, and sitting up (even with assistance) took a lot of energy right then.

"Charlotte's right." Gooch turned away from the monitors. "And I just found him in the same place the last battle was fought. It's move or or lose it."

"Alright." Ray nodded his head toward the tubes. "Gooch, you stay here with Henry and tell us if anything happens to him, or if Jim moves. Everyone else, come on."

Somehow, Ray, Charlotte, Bork and Schwoz all managed to fit into the two tubes all at once (once Charlotte got on Bork's shoulders, anyway. The guy took up a lot of room with all his muscles). Although Ray didn't enjoy Schwoz hugging him so tightly all that much.

"Call it," said Ray, meaning everyone.

"Up the tubes!"

…

Henry twisted his hands together. Gooch could see how nervous he was, and the Kid wasn't even going.

"It'll be okay," said the man. Henry looked him directly in the eyes. "I hope so."

…

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Captain Man." Jim Grim sneered and he stopped leaning against a tree and slowly approached his enemy. "And I see your little sidekick is still out on leave?"

Captain Man rolled his eyes, trying really hard to make sure his facial expressions didn't give the plan away. "As a matter of fact, my sidekick is just fine. Why don't you say hi? Oh, Kid Danger! Come on, out, Jim Grim wants to say hello!"

Charlotte, who was disguised as Kid Danger again, cautiously came from her hiding place behind a nearby tree- the same tree that had a bulletin hole in it from when Jim accidentally shot Captain Man the last time.

Jim Grim smirked. "Did Kid Danger shrink a bit, or is it just me." He phrased it like a question, but it was clearly meant to be a statement.

"Actually," said Captain Man, "he grew." The superhero pointed behind Jim Grim, where Bork revealed himself.

Except he was Kid Danger.

Yeah. That's right.

Charlotte's plan was simple: she, Bork and Schwoz would all use the special gum to disguise themselves as Kid Danger to distract and confuse Jim Grim. From there, Ray would attack and (hopefully) it would all be over. There were actually two dozen police officers hiding around, waiting for a signal. Just in case. Plus a small EMS team was waiting in a nearby parking lot.

Hey, better safe than sorry.

As Bork came around, Jim Grim's smile faded. Even from a few yards away this new "Kid Danger" was obviously much taller than him.

And then Schwoz (reluctantly) came out, pointing a laser at the villain. So were the other two "Kid Danger"s as well as Ray. And then all the cops, with their own weapons form the police station.

Jim Grim suddenly realized that he was surrounded. He muttered a few swear words and whistled.

Just then, Gerta appeared as a bird. Then a human, as Gerta.

But Charlotte had planned for this.

Schwoz quickly called, "Gerta! It is me!"

Gerta looked beyond confused, but something in her android mind led her to grasp Schwoz's arm and take his fingerprint. Her robot (sorry, Gerta) eyes softened. And she grinned. "Schwoz…"

Gerta wasn't in love with Schwoz anymore, but she still loved him. However that works.

Schwoz lightly shushed her and whispered, "Attack."

And she did.

As soon a Jim realized what had just happened, he lifted a gun from his belt and shot at Gerta. It didn't even leave a dent. Schwoz smirked, proud of himself.

Which Jim Grim didn't realize, because everyone shot him with their lasers first and knocked him unconscious.

They won.

…

The gang's first instinct was to throw a party, but there were two main problems: one, there really wasn't anything Henry could do, since just breathing hurt, and two, Jim Grim was in a high-security prison, but they still needed to find out who peeked under Henry's mask during/after the battle a couple days ago.

Which is exactly why Ray, as Captain Man, took his special lie detector "truth fingers" to the prison.

Henry wanted to go, too (for some reason), but just the thought of him being near Jim Grim made everybody (himself included) beyond nervous, so he stayed behind and took a nap. Everyone (besides Ray) agreed to stay with him, Charlotte and Jasper sat on the couch and played Garbage. Schwoz went down to a storage room for something with Bork, and Gooch went up to the store.

Ray really wished he didn't have to do it, but at the same time he wanted answers.

…

Jim Grim rolled his eyes when Captain Man wheeled in the truth finger thing to the visiting area, where guards were positioned at all the exits. "I assume that's some kind of torture device."

Captain Man shook his head before staring the villain right in the eyes. "Of course not. I would never stoop to your level."

Jim Grim raised his eyebrows. "Prepared some insults on the way here, I see."

Captain Man shrugged. "Maybe. But that's not the point of me coming here." He started to set the machine up. "I need answers from you."

Jim narrowed his eyes. "At this point I may as well give them to you."

"Not good enough. I can't say I trust you. Not after everything you've done."

"I guess that makes sense, given what I did to Henry."

Captain Man stiffened, unfortunately not able to hide it from Jim Grim. "Well, I knew his name," said the villain.

"Yeah, because you planted that dang rat." Captain Man was close to giving up on trying to control his temper. He turned back to the machine.

"Even before then I knew."

Captain Man whipped around. "What?!" he cried.

Jim Grim smirked a little. "Oh, nothing."

"Tell me!"

"I thought you couldn't trust me? But fine. It might interest you to know that your little sidekick- is he even alive? Cause that whole thing at the park was confusing, anyway- that stupid kid practically told me."

 **Dun dun duuuuuuuuuuuun! Queen of Cliffhangers, indeed!**

 **So, I don't know about you all out there, but I've got fewer than three school days left and then SUMMER! Which means I get to constantly sit down and WRITE!**

 **Ciao, and Happy Reading!**

 **P.S.: total number of chapters for this story is still unknown, but guaranteed it will go into June!**


	46. Chapter 46

Captain Man almost dropped the part of the machine he was holding. "What the heck-" (not the word he used, but whatever) "-do you mean, he practically told you?! WHAT DID YOU D-"

"Whoa! Easy, dude. I didn't hurt him!" Captain Man raised an eyebrow, like _Do you_ WANT _to get killed, butthead?_ and Jim added, "Besides all that."

Captain Man looked about ready to throw the truth machine on top of him, but Jim Grim kept talking.

"I swear, it was a complete accident. Look, I had just gotten to Swellview, and had on a disguise. It was a couple of days before I planted that rat spy. It had been ready for a while, I was just struggling to find you. Henr-"

"Do NOT say his name. Or anyone else's, for that matter."

"Fine. _Your_ _sidekick_ and those other two kids were walking. I don't know to where, but ultimately, I didn't give two-"

" _Just get to the point_."

"Okay, okay, jeez. Look, I saw him, and he looked super familiar, and my brain clicked. Just then, something tumbled out of his pocket or whatever and fluttered over."

"What?"

Jim Grim reached into the pocket of his bright orange jumpsuit and pulled out a crumpled up piece of paper that had been folded in half four times. He dropped it into Captain Man's hand.

"How did you sneak this passed the guards?" The prison was so high security with villains like him, it's almost surprising they didn't search his organs for weapons.

"Trust me, you don't wanna know." There was an awkward moment of silence before Jim went, "Dude, just open it."

After a moment of hesitation, he did. This is what he saw:

...

 **Name:** _Henry Hart _

**Period:** _8_

Find the hypotenuse and long leg of a 30-60-90 triangle that has a short leg of 16.99 centimeters. Round to the nearest hundredth if necessary.

Long Leg: _29.43 cm_

Hypotenuse: _33.98 cm_

…

Captain Man stopped reading, crumpled the paper back up and stuck it in his pocket. His mind raced.

Shortly before the gang found the rat and got thrown into the whole adventure, Henry had spent about ten minutes looking through his backpack for a math assignment and he finally went, "That's it, I'm dead!" and gave up. Captain Man didn't know how that had worked out, if he got a new one or anything, but his brain put the pieces of the puzzle together.

He gave Jin Grim a murderous look. "You," said the superhero, "are so lucky."

"Lucky about what?"

"That this device can't kill anyone. Just their lies."

…

Happy to be in his comfortable clothes again, Ray held on to as much as the machine as he could so the elevator drop didn't break it. He was mentally exhausted from the interrogations, but he remembered that.

Ray had been expecting the gang to bombard him with questions the second he returned, but, to his surprise, that didn't happen.

Everyone else (besides Henry, who was still asleep) had expected him to stay something as soon as he stepped out of the elevator. To their surprise, that didn't happen.

So they basically had a staring contest for about a minute.

Ray finally spoke first. "Okay. Uh… so…" he nervously dragged the rolling cart with the lie detector truth fingers on it out of the elevator. It made a loud squeaky noise and he finally stopped. Charlotte and the other four raised their eyebrows at him.

Ray sighed. "Jim Grim wasn't even the one who listed up Henry's mask. But," he added quickly before anyone could start panicking, "I did find out this:" he plopped himself on the couch, noticing that they were sitting in height order. "Jim had given specific orders to all his henchmen to take any opportunity to find out our secret identities just to confirm what he already knew, like Jasper said before. Only one of them saw it. She did confirm to Jim Grim, but no one else had been told as far as he knew. Fortunately, the one who saw his face had been found and arrested- so had a bunch of the others- so I did the test in her too." Everyone leaned forward. "She didn't tell anyone else. And-" Ray pulled out what looked like a laser out of his pocket "-this here was supposed to be a surprise. It's like the memory wiper, but it only erases a certain amount of time from a person's memory. Somehow, I dunno, it's Schwoz's.

"The henchmen were never told much of anything, so it worked on the girl. But," Ray took a deep breath, "Jim Grim… there was no way to guarantee how much he knew." He leaned back a reached behind the lie detector screen and picked up the memory wiper. No one had even seen him leave with it. "So I wiped his brain."

No one said anything for a minute. Then Charlotte spoke up. "So… he doesn't remember anything he did?"

"Nope." Ray sat up a little straighter. "I worked out an agreement with the police. Naturally, since he almost killed my sidekick, I wanted him in jail for the rest of the life, but they didn't, saying losing his memory was bad enough. A compromise was reached." Ray sat up as straight as he could. "Jim Grim is starting over. As we speak he's being told that he was in a freak accident of some sort- I don't know what- and will be living there until some stuff was worked out. They're trying to track down some family. But he's not a threat anymore."

The room broke into smiles.

…

"Charlotte? Can I ask you about something?"

Charlotte looked up at Ray. Henry was still asleep, and everyone else went to go do stuff, so they were playing Garbage. (Ray refused to play Speed again, but Charlotte was still winning even though the game was based on chance, not skill.) She shrugged. "Sure."

Ray glanced over at Henry, then looked back at Charlotte. "Meet me behind the secret door in two minutes."

…

The two minutes was so Ray could find Schwoz and get him to sit with Henry for a few minutes. Charlotte raised her eyebrows at him when he walked in. "So?"

Ray took a deep breath. "Charlotte, we need to tell Henry about his family. Waiting to spill the beans isn't going to help."

Charlotte nodded in agreement. "So… what?"

"Henry will take it better- notice I said better, not good- if he hears it from us. 'Us' as in you, me and Jasper. You two are his best friends, and I…" Ray was finding it really hard to get the words out. "Charlotte, I think I'm going to adopt Henry."

This shocked Charlotte so bad her eyebrows went high enough that she ran out of forehead. "What?" She choked out, thinking maybe she hard incorrectly.

"Yeah, you heard that right. Charlotte, you know better than I do that Henry was always distant from his family. In fact, a few weeks ago, I overheard him telling that Jasper that… that I was like a brother to him." There was a pause. "Henry, I mean. Not Jasper." Ray made a face.

Charlotte smiled a little. "Ray, I think that's a great idea! You and Henry _are_ like brothers."

"So you don't think it's… I dunno. Earlier I was thinking of when I found him with the Wall Dogs that one time. He was so happy to see me. I hadn't thought about it too much then, but something in my gut told me it was for more reason than just that he was basically getting his butt saved."

Charlotte nodded in agreement. "I agree. And I'm totally for the idea. _If_ ," she added pointedly, "you agree to let Henry decide."

"Of course."

"Pinky promise?"

"Really, Charlotte?"

"Yes."

Ray rolled his eyes and pinkie promised. (And then Charlotte made him pinky swear. She cares so much.)

…

A bottle of water. A bowl of ice cream. Those two items placed for Henry to consume for three reasons: one, he needed to eat and drink water (duh). Two, it would soften the blow (possibly, anyway). Three, ice cream was really soft, so eating it wouldn't hurt as much. Probably.

Charlotte had texted Jasper to come down while Ray woke Henry up.

You know that sinking feeling you get sometimes when you have to do something you really don't want to do, or when you're just nervous about something, like going onstage? Imagine all that times three, and you've got Charlotte, Ray and Jasper.

Henry wasn't the smartest kid on Earth, but he could tell something was bothering them. Which made him nervous.

With their help (mostly Ray's), Henry managed to take enough steps to sit on the couch and lean back. His friends say on the other side of the table.

Henry stared at them for a solid minute. They were all giving each other "I'm not telling him you tell him" looks before Charlotte finally blurted, "Henry, Ray has something to tell you."

Henry looked at his boss expectantly while the man glared at Charlotte. He didn't say anything for a moment.

Henry tried not to let it show, but he was afraid he knew what his boss was going to say. "Ray?" The boy set his food on the table. "Are you going to fire me?"

The other three looked up at him in surprise. "No! I mean, no, that's not what I wanted to talk to you about- no, you're not getting fired. Uh…"

Henry raised his eyebrows at him.

Jasper finally spoke up. "Henry… something happened while you were still unconscious."

They could see their friend tense up, awaiting the news.

"Kid…" said Ray, his voice shaking. "Henry, we received some news about… about your family."

Henry's eyes were bloodshot and he didn't even know what had happened yet.

Or so they thought.

"I… I know," he muttered.

His friends looked surprised again. "You… you _knew_?!" Charlotte cried before the pause got too long.

"Yeah… um… guys, at some point, I actually did wake up. But I couldn't move or talk or anything. And my eyes were still closed. But my ears were working fine."

Jasper's jaw dropped.

"I… I heard everything. I was trying to move, or say something, or _anything_ , but…" tears flooded Henry's eyes as he struggled to continue. "I- I was hoping it was just a dream, somehow, but…" Henry finally broke down and started crying.

Which made everyone else cry. Green Fingers isn't the only thing that's contagious.

 **To tell the truth, I have a love-hate relationship with summer (the heat makes my stomach churn), but it DOES mean I'm out of school long enough to do A LOT of writing!**

 **Thanks so much for all the reviews, I really appreciate them, but don't worry, the story's not over yet! Still unable to confirm am ending date, but I'm still writing more chapters, I have millions of little details I still wanna get included!**

 **Stay cool! (Or warm, depending on where you live!)**

 **Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


	47. Chapter 47

Charlotte wiped away a tear and scooted towards Henry, her arms open for a hug, which he gratefully accepted, crying into her shoulder. Charlotte was sad, and all, but at the same time she loved having her- just say it- crush so close. She closed her own watery eyes and squeezed a little tighter.

Ray and Jasper exchanged a look, then walked over to join the embraces. Eventually, they couldn't stand the snot anymore and had to hunt the Man Cave for tissues. (Henry stayed sitting.)

The kids both sat back down- Charlotte next to Henry and Jasper by his feet on the floor. Ray stood behind Henry. After a moment, he reached over and gave his sidekick's shoulder the lightest squeeze known to man. "Henry, Piper is still alive. We can take to down to the hospital to go…" Ray really didn't want to use the words "say goodbye" even though Henry probably knew she might not wake up. "... go see her."

Henry, too upset the speak, just nodded and buried his head between his knees. Charlotte wrapped an arm around him for support.

Ray decided to make an exit and went to bug Schwoz. Jasper said that he was going back upstairs, shooting Charlotte a wink as he climbed into the elevator. She gave him a _Not a good time, Jasper_ look.

Henry raised his head up once he heard the elevator door close. "Char?" he said, pulling out his nickname for her. "Can I…" he wasn't sure what to say, but Charlotte just went, "Go for it."

Henry nodded. "Look… Char, I'm really sorry. You were right. I couldn't handle Jim Grim, even with my superpower."

"I'm sorry too, Hen. I shouldn't have doubted you."

"But you were right."

A small smile crept onto Charlotte's face. "Well, I can't argue with that." Henry smiled, too, glad to have his bestie back. "And," she added, "if there's anything I can do to help, let me know. I know this is a sweet friends moment right now, but we gotta hide your injuries and get you back to school. Oh, and everyone thinks you have or had the flu."

"Good lie," said Henry, grinning a little wider. "And… now that you mention it, there is one little thing you can do to help."

"Sure thing. What is it?" Charlotte mentally crossed her fingers, hoping that he was thinking what she was thinking.

And he was.

Henry didn't respond. In words, anyway. Instead, he cupped her face in his hands and kissed her.

Needless to say, she returned the favor.

Both of them could only use two words to describe it: absolutely magical.

She wrapped her arms around him. He kept his hands on her head.

Also, it went on for almost three minutes. It only ends when it did because they both heard the sprocket door open and Ray's footsteps.

He didn't see it, but he definitely would've died laughing, because, well, he's Ray.

Even though he just crossed the Man Cave into the secret room behind the secret door with a "Hey guys", the mood was kind of went on hiatus.

Neither teen said anything for a minute until Henry went, "So… that just happened."

Charlotte smiled. "Would you like it to happen again?"

Henry grinned. "You really get me, Char."

The mood resumed.

…

"You sure you're up to this, Kid?" Ray looked worried.

They were walking into the hospital. Henry and Charlotte were interrupted again by Gooch, who had just received a call from Nicole: Piper had been officially pronounced brain dead.

The doctors were ready to pull the plug, but Nicole pleaded and was able to make them promise to wait until her big brother could come see her.

As long as he came today.

Having Henry leave the Man Cave was the last thing anyone wanted to do, but the alternative was not getting to see Piper.

Fortunately, though, some heavy duty meds had done their job and Henry actually felt pretty good. A couple tubs of cheap concealer later, they were on their way to the hospital in Ray's old van.

Henry nodded, even though he was in the backseat (with Charlotte, of course). "Yeah. I'm sure."

He sounded pretty sure. Charlotte reached for his hand and gave it a light squeeze. He squeezed back. They smiled at each other.

"Alright, kids. Here we are."

…

Henry swallowed some bile. He hadn't been at all prepared for the number of machines crowding his baby sister.

Ray and Charlotte exchanged a look from the doorway. They, as in Ray and Charlotte, had agreed not to intrude unless Henry specifically asked them to.

The boy glanced over his shoulder at his friends, kind of wishing Jasper had come. Yeah, Piper had been a complete butthole to him, but he still cared.

Henry looked back at his sibling. He didn't know much about medical things beyond how much being sick sucks, but the number of machines surrounding his sister seemed… immense.

Henry pulled up one of those amazingly comfortable (just kidding) hospital chairs, ready to do something he's wanted to do for years.

"Hey, Pipes," he said as he leaned on the mattress. "You wouldn't believe what I'm been doing for the past couple years."

…

Ray and Charlotte watched Henry pull up a chair and start talking to Piper as if she could hear him, but were unable to make out what he was saying.

"So…" said Charlotte quietly, leaning against the wall. "When are you going to ask him?"

"About what?"

"About adopting him."

"Oh. I don't know."

"You might wanna hurry, sooner or later it's gotta happen."

"I know, but now just doesn't seem like a good time."

"I know."

They went quiet. Ray glanced at his sidekick, who was still talking to Piper.

"What do you think he's telling her?"

Charlotte considered the question she was being asked for a moment. Part of her thought maybe he was telling her about… you know, what happened earlier. But she didn't say it. "I… I think he's telling her about his job."

Ray nodded. "I was thinking the same thing." They got quiet again and waited.

…

"... so that's where I was that day. And lately we've been having… I guess you could say _issues_ with a new villain. New to us, anyway. But that's all worked out now.

"Hey, remember when you always used to tease me about Charlotte? When we were little? You always called her my girlfriend and it grossed out all three of us. Well, it turns out you were right, in a way. I guess we all won that one."

Henry rested his head in his fist. Unable to think of anything else to say, he whispered, "Love you, baby sis" and left the room.

…

About an hour later, they were back at the Man Cave. Charlotte had hoped that some fro-yo would lift everyone's spirits. (It worked… kind of.)

The whole gang- Henry, Charlotte, Schwoz, Jasper, Gooch, Bork and Ray (in that order)- was sitting in the couch in the Man Cave with their frozen yogurt. Charlotte kept giving Ray a _C'mon, dude_ look. She actually really wanted him to ask already.

Ray had actually promised her he would do it that day, and even confessed that he had asked the other live-ins what they thought before leaving for the hospital. (They talked while Henry was in the bathroom at Totally Yogurt.) Everyone was in total support, including Jasper, who Charlotte texted so he wouldn't be taken by surprise.

Ray finally set his food down. "Hey Kid, we need to ask you about something."

Henry somehow didn't notice that everyone was staring at him. "Yeah?" He said, barely looking up from his fro-yo.

Charlotte nudged him, a signal to pay more attention to Ray. Henry put his cup down. "Yeah?" he said again.

"Hen, I- actually, _we_ need to ask you a very important question." Henry raised his eyebrows, taken by surprise.

"Kid, the truth is, I've been thinking. Now that… that your family isn't able to take care of you anymore, it dawned on me that you need a place to live, and we have plenty of space down here, and I thought-"

"Ray, are you saying I can come live down here in the Man Cave?"

Ray considered saying "No, you can live behind the counter" as a joke, but just went, "Yeah, if you wa-"

Henry jumped from his seat and gave Ray a hug so tight that he could barely breathe! "Yes! Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!"

Ray pried Henry off of him (sort of), but he was smiling. "I guess you like the idea, then."

Ray was just about ready to take Henry behind the sprocket door and let him choose one of the empty bedrooms when Charlotte went, "Uhhh… does anyone else hear something?"

...

 **Ewwwwww, cooties! JK, couldn't resist!**

 **So all of THAT happened. The story won't go on much longer, there's just a couple more things to add in, so the chapters will kinda be all over the place like this one.**

 **Sorry I posted this later in the day than I wanted to, was out of town and just got home.**

 **Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


	48. Chapter 48

Charlotte's question almost caused panic, but then Jasper said that it was probably a phone. Sure enough, Mrs. Page was calling her daughter.

Since it wasn't a video call, Charlotte didn't go into the elevator to answer. Instead, she went, "Crap. I think she might've found out about… uh... them." She didn't say "Henry's family" because she didn't want to trigger his sadness again.

She nervously answered and brought the phone up to her ear. "Hey, Mom."

"Hi, sweetie. Charlotte, I just got a call from Henry's Uncle Mark."

"Oh." Charlotte raised her eyebrows at everyone else. "Um, what'd he tell you?"

"Charlotte, honey, he told me that… that Henry's parents and Piper were in a wreck."

"Oh," she said again. Charlotte turned her phone volume up so everyone else could hear but didn't put it on speaker. "Um… yeah, we… we… found out over here too. Just now," she added quickly.

"Oh," her mother sounded partially relieved. Charlotte guessed that she hadn't wanted to be the bearer of bad news. "Is Henry there?"

 _Thank God she didn't find out while he was still unconscious._ "Yeah, hold on." She put a hand over the phone. "Henry, she wants to talk to you." She handed him the phone.

Mrs. Page started saying a bunch of stuff about how Henry was totally welcome to say over as long as he needed, but he was only half listening. After a few minutes, Henry pretended to need a bathroom break and they hung up.

"How many times is she going to fall for that excuse?" Charlotte wondered aloud. When the others gave her questioning looks, she said, more to Henry than anyone else, "That's what I told her on Thursday night when-" before realizing what she was about to say.

Henry looked like he was on the verge on crying again, so Ray went, "Hey, Kid, why don't you come with us and you can pick out one of the empty bedrooms?"

"Okay!" This seemed to cheer him up. (Despite the reason he would be living there in the first place.)

…

Behind the sprocket door, there were rooms that belonged to Ray, Gooch, Schwoz and Bork, plus three other bedrooms that were gathering dust. One of them had a private bathroom and giant closet.

That was the room Henry chose, partly for those two reasons, but mostly because it was right next to Ray's.

Ray smiled to himself, remembering hearing what Henry told Jasper a few weeks before then. He decided to have a talk with him.

Charlotte texted her mom and said that Henry would still be around for another day or two, but found a place to stay afterwards. Mrs. Page texted back that she would be returning from Texas by Tuesday.

After the selection was made, Ray insisted on making Schwoz and Jasper clean the room so it wasn't so dusty (they had all sneezed at least twice each by then), but Henry said it would make him a lot happier if Ray did it. His boss rolled his eyes and they ended up tackling each other on the (dirty and dusty) floor.

You know, like brothers would.

…

Later that evening, Henry and Charlotte were sitting in her living room. Neither of them had said a word about what happened earlier, but Henry finally broke the silence.

"So… Charlotte?"

 _Shoot._ "Yeah?"

"Um…." Silence.

Charlotte sighed. "Look, Henry, I'm sorry."

"About what?"

"About… about before. When you woke up from…."

"Charlotte, don't apologize." Henry scooted closer to her. "It's okay."

Silence again. "I'm sorry about your family." Charlotte scooted just a little bit closer.

"I know. I mean, I- oh, you know what I mean."

"Yeah." More silence. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Well… I do… but I can't." He scooted a little bit closer.

"What do you mean, you can't? Is it too much to handle?" Charlotte scooted a little bit closer.

"I guess." Henry rested his head in his hands. "But right now… I think my best option is to just pretend everything is normal. As normal as my life can get, anyway. Maybe that'll make it easier."

Charlotte nodded. "Sure," she said. "Whatever you need to do." They both scooted a little bit closer to each other.

"Well," said Charlotte after another minute of silence, "we may as well find something to do other than just sit here. Unless you don't want to," she added quickly.

"No, let's find something. Maybe there's a game at school or something." They thought for a minute.

"Hey," said Charlotte eventually, "the Drama Club is showing _The Wizard of Oz_ tonight. Maybe we can go see that."

It wasn't until the words were already out of her mouth she realized that a musical about a child orphan trying to get back home to her family _might_ not be the kind of thing Henry should watch. But he liked the idea.

Charlotte was really tempted to not say anything, but she mentioned her concerns. Henry just smiled. "It'll be okay. I'll be sitting next to you." Charlotte grinned back.

She didn't know all that much about teenage relationships, but everything seemed to be running pretty smoothly. And it was so… just _natural_.

 _And who says true love isn't a thing?_

…

The show was actually pretty good. Truthfully, Henry wasn't sure if he liked it because it was actually a pretty good performance or because he was with Charlotte. Either way, the money they paid for the tickets was worth it. There was actually this one Emerald City girl who Henry had always thought was pretty cute, but he hardly noticed her.

Paranoia led them to leave before very many people saw Henry, since they didn't want to take any risks with them seeing his stitches (even with the concealer he was using) or asking uncomfortable questions. Even so, however, they didn't get back to Charlotte's house until almost ten; combined with everything that had been going on lately, they were both tired enough that they immediately fell asleep. (In their own beds this time….)

…

Since they didn't really have to energy to dream, both teens got a decent amount of sleep that night. Unfortunately, the pain meds Henry had been given had worn off and he woke up in a lot of pain Sunday morning.

Charlotte completely panicked and called Ray without thinking.

"Hey, Charlotte. Everything okay over there?"

"Ray, Henry's hurting."

Ray, being himself, didn't get it right the first time. "Um, I _realize_ that, Charlotte. Haven't you been keeping up?"

"No, I mean he's _physically_ hurting. Really bad." She looked away from the hologram of her boss and over to her best friend, who was curled up on the bed he had been sleeping in. His forehead was covered in sweat, which made the concealer smear off and reveal his stitches.

"Shoot," said Ray (something like that, anyway), even though he couldn't see his sidekick, "his pain meds must be wearing off. Charlotte, try and get him to eat something- the meds are better with food- and I'll be there in a few minutes."

Charlotte didn't hesitate. She ran downstairs and found a banana to give to Henry, along with a glass of water. She decided not to make him move downstairs and just sat with him.

As promised, Ray arrived a few minutes later with some pills that made his sidekick feel a whole lot better, along with an apology. "I should've given them to you before you guys left last night," he said, actually feeling really bad.

"It's okay, Ray." Henry looked at his boss from the corner of his eye. Charlotte was redoing his concealer to cover the scars and wounds before they left so there would be any questions from anybody, so he couldn't really move his head. "I feel better now."

Ray shrugged in response, but he still felt bad.

…

Instead of going straight to the Man Cave, Ray drove the kids and himself to the Hart house to pack up and pick up some of his stuff- it was Henry's idea.

Ray and Charlotte were really hesitant, but decided that it might help their friend let go.

Key word there is _might_.

Entering the house was weird. Henry looked around for a minute before closing the door behind him. (Ray and Charlotte were cleaning out some space in the van for his stuff. She wanted to go with her bestie, but decided to let him go in on his own.) It was strange not to hear his parents doing various chores, such as cooking dinner, or Piper whining about this and that. Henry felt a chill, as if he was being haunted. He shivered and slowly made his way upstairs.

The Kid reached his room. It was just the way he had left it, a familiar scene. He sat down in the bed, wondering what would become of it.

 _It's not like I can pay the bills and just keep this place,_ he thought. _This isn't going to be my room anymore._

Henry curled into the fetal position in his bed and buried his head between his knees. _My whole life,_ he thought, _is a complete mess._ He felt his nose start to run and his eyes to water.

Even with his ears blocked off, Henry still heard footsteps approaching his room.

 ** _(In a mysterious character voice:)_ I have news...**

 ** _(In normal voice:)_ Alright! So, as said, I've got news. **

**After a bit of math and a lot of writing, I can now confirm that the last chapter (gasp!) of this story will be released on Sunday, July 01. As of posting this I have finally made a decision on what the next story will be but not it's relaease date, although that will be after _Shot Down_ is complete.**

 **Also, if you caught the other references I made to that musical in this story, you're probably thinking, "Geez, what is up with her and _The Wizard of Oz_?" Well... uh... not entirely sure how to meet that question, but I like it! ;)**

 **Uh... I guess that's it.**

 **Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


	49. Chapter 49

Fortunately, they were only Ray's. Henry wiped his face and looked at the doorway, where his boss had appeared. "Where's Charlotte?" was the first thing that popped out of his mouth.

"Downstairs." Ray came in and sat down on the bed next to Henry. "She started freaking out when you weren't on the first floor, and I pointed out that you were probably up here. I see I was right." Henry just turned his head back and said nothing. "You okay, Kid?"

Henry didn't answer for a moment. "I… I don't know, Ray."

"Yeah, okay, that was a stupid question. How about: Can you tell me what's bothering you?"

Henry shrugged. "It's just… everything's happening so fast. Not only is my family gone, but I'm leaving my street- I've lived here since I was little."

"Maybe talking about something will make you feel better."

Henry thought for a moment. "Anything," added Ray. "I'll even explain where babies come from." Henry smiled a little. "Well…" he hesitated, but then swallowed and started talking. The story came out slowly. "I have... _no idea_ how, but I still remember the first time I meant Piper. A few months before my parents had given me the whole baby-coming-soon-talk." Henry (somehow) was able to recall the conversation. It went something like this:

...

 _(The HARTS are sitting on the couch.)_

MOM: Henry, your daddy and I want to talk to you.

HENRY: I didn't do it!

DAD: Do what?

HENRY: Uh… never mind.

MOM: Um… okay then. Sweetie, your father and I have a surprise for you.

HENRY: What?!

MOM: Well, you're going to be getting a little brother or sister!

HENRY: Really?! Where is it?! I wanna see!

DAD: It's in mommy's tummy.

HENRY: Is that why you look so fat?

DAD: Henry!

HENRY: Sorry, Mommy.

MOM: Just don't do that again, okay?

HENRY: Okay. _(Gives MOM a big hug.)_

…

"How do you _remember_ all that?" Ray raised his eyebrows.

"I dunno. Anyway, I was… I think four at the time, and my Uncle Hairneck was around when Mom started freaking out because, as she put it, 'IT'STIMEIT'STIMEIT'STIME' in all caps, no spaces- which made Dad freak out- and they left, leaving ME to freak out.

"'Why's Mommy freaking out?! What about Dad?! Uncle Mark, what about me?!' was about all I could say.

"Uncle Mark?" Ray asked, confused. I thought you said it was Uncle Hairneck."

"Same guy- he didn't have enough body hair under his head to warrant the nickname yet. Anyway, he just smiled. 'Henry, do you know what's happening?' he asked.

"And I was like, 'Does it _sound_ like I know what's happening?!' I had kind of a smart mouth back then."

"Back then?" Ray snorted a little.

"Shut up, Ray. Anyway, _Uncle Mark_ said, 'Henry, all that freaking out is because your little brother or sister is on the way!' Well, something like that.

"I was totally confused and was like, 'But the baby's been on the way, like, forever!' And Uncle Hairneck said, 'The baby is about to be _born_. It won't be in your mommy's tummy anymore.' And I went, 'Oh. OH!' and started begging him to take me to the hospital to see Mom."

"Seems like you were really excited," said Ray. Henry smiled. "And I was. My dad finally called a couple of hours later to tell us to come and that it was a girl. I made him promise over the phone that I could hold her."

"Aw, how cute!"

"Shut up, Ray," said Henry again. "But I was pretty happy." He grinned. "I would always get so mad whenever Mom told me that 'you can't hold the baby right now' and just kept on begging. Eventually, she started becoming kinda bratty and I stopped wanting to play with her. Piper, I mean. Not my mom."

"Yeah, I figured."

"Yeah. Anyway-" Henry was cut off by quick footsteps approaching his room.

" _There_ you are!" Charlotte wasked in, obviously very relieved. "Hey Ray, thanks for telling me that you found him." She rolled her eyes and plopped down next to Henry.

"Relax, Char. I'm okay." Henry teasingly ruffled her curls and she swatted his hand away. But she was smiling. Ray took notice of this but didn't say anything about it. "Alright, kids. Break time is over, let's get some work done."

…

The actually made a pretty decent amount of progress getting Henry moved out and in. His room in the Man Cave certainly wasn't what he was used to, but the half lit _PLAY_ sign, his own pillows and blankets, the little couch and some other things definitely helped.

However, they did _not_ prepare him for Monday.

At this point in time, there wasn't a single student or staff member who hadn't heard about what had happened to the Harts. (A few of them had actually thought Henry was gone, too, but _obviously_ , he wasn't.)

Charlotte and Jasper had both stayed up half the night texting people from school to please not make a big deal out if things, but Henry didn't know that. Still, though, people stared when they saw him.

Jasper and Charlotte kept close to him the whole time, being the good friends they are. A couple times, they would give people who were staring a good You-Had-Better-Look-Away-And-Not-Make-Things-More-Emotional-For-Henry-And-Us-Than-They-Already-Are-Right-Now look. It usually worked.

During one of the passing periods, Jasper took off from the lockers to retrieve an art project that he left in another class, leaving Henry and Charlotte alone (well, with a bunch of classmates around).

Henry watched Charlotte open her locker with kind of a weird expression on his face. She looked at him. Her "What?!" came out more defensive than she meant it to be, but Henry didn't care.

"Remember that time you couldn't get your locker open?"

"Wha- oh yeah." Charlotte was able to recall that one day when he lock was busted and she begged Henry to zap it, even resorting to screaming in the middle of the hallway. She probably wouldn't do that again now. Maybe. "I remember that."

"So," Henry leaned up against the lockers beside her's, "how exactly is all this supposed to work?"

Charlotte gave him a funny look. "All what?"

"Uh… you know… you and me…."

"Oh! I don't- waaaaaaaait a minute," Charlotte gave him a teasing look. "Why are you asking _me_?"

"Because you're the genius."

"Well, I can't argue with that."

They both laughed a little. Charlotte closed her locker and followed Henry to his. "But, honestly, I don't know. You're the one who's dated before."

"Hmmm… too true, Char. Maybe we should Google it. Or use Wikihow."

Charlotte blushed a little, remembering how she had use Wikihow to figure out if she had a crush on Henry (even though he didn't know that). "Maybe."

Just then, some students practically sprinted down the hall. Henry and Charlotte looked at each other, then behind themselves and spotted Mitch Bilsky, with his… uh… _friends_ trailing behind him.

"So _that's_ why those kids appeared to be training for a marathon," remarked Charlotte.

"Yeah," agreed Henry. He leaned closer and whispered, "Would you like to zap him for me again?"

Charlotte giggled, not realizing that Mitch had snuck up behind her (neither did Henry).

"Well, well, well," the bully sneered, making both the other teens jump a little. Apparently, he had decided that right then was the perfect time to pick on them, not really caring about what had happened to Henry's family. "Hey, you two, gym class is coming up, and, um, rumor has it we be playing with the not-so softy balls today." A small crowd, remembering Henry's past encounters with that guy, had gathered. A few kids were snickering. Henry and Charlotte just stared at him, trying to think of some sort of comeback. Mitch started talking again. "Are we gonna go play dodgeball, or are you two just gonna stand here and kiss?"

Henry and Charlotte looked at each other. Then they both shrugged and kissed.

A chorus of "AWWWWWWWWWW"s ran up and down the hallways. Mitch just rolled his eyes and stomped away. Charlotte and Henry broke apart, their faces a bit red, when Jasper returned with his art project (a toothpick model of the Emerlad City). He looked around. "What happened?"

Everyone giggled. Jasper just looked confused.

"Uh… Jasper," said Henry. Charlotte finished the sentence for him in the middle of a laugh: "we gotta tell you something."

…

 **Man, I've waited** _ **so**_ **long to put the Mitch part in! ;) One of my first ideas for this fic, took long enough! ;)**

 **Thanks you guys SO MUCH for sticking with this story (for almost fifty weeks...), I really appreciate it! The last chapter/epilogue will be posted next Sunday, and I'll comfirm the release date of my next story!**

 **Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


	50. Epilogue

Epilogue

Twenty years later, Jasper still teases them about it. It only took about twenty minutes for him to blab about it to everyone at Junk N' Stuff/the Man Cave once they got to work that day after school.

Ray burst into hysterical laughter, but pulled himself together long enough to apologize and say, "Yeah, saw that coming from a mile away. I knew I should've made a bet with Schwoz on it."

Schwoz had the same reaction the hallway did before going, "Hey, I wanted the side of them getting together! You refused!" (Ray laughed even harder at that.) Everyone was kind of surprised, given Schwoz wasn't normally the kind of person to make bets.

Bork grunted and grinned before pulling the lovebirds (A.K.A. Henry and Charlotte) into a hug so tight that they could barely breathe and almost passed out.

Gooch started crying. Jasper was still all hyped up.

Henry and Charlotte, though, didn't mind all that much. (Even the squeeze hug.)

Ten years later, they agreed on a last name: Henry wanted a new one (even after being adopted by Ray, he still had "Hart" as a surname because he didn't want to change it right then) because he was still having a hard time letting go of his past, and Charlotte totally backed him up. They ended up doing that name mashing thing.

A few years (yeah, a lot of time jumping here) after the whole incident with Jim Grim had been resolved, Charlotte's parents finally divorced. Her mother had both her daughter's last name as well as her own changed to her maiden name, which was Bolton. So Henry and Charlotte's legal surname ended up being Holton.

...

Throughout their teenage years, they got teased (in a friendly way, not like Mitch would've if he'd bothered) by their friends that they were going to have a kid or kids together someday. As it turns out, they were right. Henry and Charlotte did end up having kids as adults.

Twins, as a matter of fact.

Piper Susannah Holton (who acquired the nickname "Susie" early on) was born first (by about seven minutes). She looked more like her dad, although her hair was short and curly like her mom's, except blond.

On the other hand, the second born twin was Hector Jake Holton (who they called "Jesse" even though they still have no idea where the nickname came from). Unlike his sister, he resembled his mom, although his hair was shorter and stick-straight.

Both kids inherited not only their father's bravery and strength but also their mother's intelligence and creativity.

Neither of them knew what their dad did as a job.

Speaking of which, many people find it interesting that Captain Man's sidekick is obviously past his teenage years but still goes by "Kid Danger" like he always had. Truthfully, though, he was an amazing person and superhero (sidekick) and they really didn't care. Neither did Henry, although Captain Man would sometimes use the name to get the upper hand in an argument.

The kids didn't know Uncle Ray's secret, either. They really liked him, though. They also thought, like most of their friends, that Captain Man and Kid Danger were cool.

Obviously, this was something that Henry and Charlotte had to be prepared for. They explained to both kids that they had spent time as teenagers- and so had family-friend Jasper- going all fanboy/fangirl on the team (kind of a lie, but kind of not) and really wished they had used that time another way. The kids bought it and both made a point to not "obsess over celebs" as they often put it.

And speaking of the family-friend, Uncle Jasper (as he insisted being called by Susie and Jesse) still loved telling the story of when his besties admitted they had gotten together:

"So… Jasper," Charlotte had begun, "remember how you pried it outta me that I liked Henry and you told me that he liked me?"

Now, Jasper was never the most intelligent kid (ha! As if), but he put the pieces of the puzzle together immediately and started squealing, almost dropping his art project. Henry practically slapped his hand over his friend's mouth before the whole hallway could stare. Then he went, "Wait, when did Jasper tell you that?!" to Charlotte, and she said something like, "A-"

(She got cut off by the warning bell and they had to rush to class. Seriously, school bells are the enemy!)

They later (after school that day, to be exact) confessed to him about seeing _The Wizard of Oz_ together, which made him even happier. It was like Jasper was a fan of some TV show and his favorite pair of characters finally got together.

...

One night, after the seven and a half year-old kids were in bed, Charlotte found Henry on their back porch, squinting at something in the moonlight.

"What's that?" she asked. Henry was slightly startled but didn't flinch. After being Kid Danger for so long- over twenty years- he had learned to hide it.

He didn't answer. Well, not verbally, anyway. He handed it over, and Charlotte saw that it was a photo.

A family photo, to be exact. Of the Harts. Not the one with Captain Man in it, but an actual family photo: Mr. Hart had his arm around his wife behind the couch from Henry's old house, and they both had these goofy grins on their faces. Henry was sitting on the floor, not over enthusiastically grinning but still smiling. Piper was sitting on the couch but had still found a way to pose like a supermodel. Charlotte had taken that picture back before Henry became Kid Danger, probably by a few weeks.

She squeezed his hand. "Does it still hurt?" She missed them sometimes, but mostly her thoughts were centered on something else. But Henry was the one who lost his biological intermediate family.

"I don't know." Henry used his free hand to balance his head. "Sometimes I'll be thinking about something entirely different, and then their memories just hit me like a tidal wave."

Charlotte nodded and handed back the photo, which Henry set down under his leg so the soft breeze wouldn't blow it away. "It's okay, Hen. But it's not like they would want you to just forget about them entirely."

"I know. Actually…" Henry swallowed, "don't judge me for saying this-"

"I would never judge you."

Henry smiled a little. "I know." The smile faded. "But… well… sometimes I just feel like they're watching me. Us. Our family."

"What do you mean 'watching'?"

"I… I don't know. I just do. Sometimes I'll be thinking about Piper getting her licence, or dad ringing his handbells, or mom driving me somewhere, and I swear I can feel this… just this _chill_ run up my spine and all over my body."

Charlotte wasn't really sure how to respond to that. She went with: "Maybe they are. Maybe your parents and Piper are watching over us, as angels or something. Making sure we're alright down here."

Henry shrugged.

"We're going to have to tell them someday," said Charlotte, looking at the window that was part of Jesse's room. "Eventually."

"Yeah," agree Henry. "But I don't know how, or when. How would they react to that?"

Charlotte shrugged. "I don't know. But I think they'll be alright."

Henry nodded in agreement. They say in silence for a minute.

Charlotte was the first to speak and changed the subject. "How's your eye?"

A couple of days earlier, Captain Man and Kid Danger had been fighting a new villain who was spraying around this liquid- they still didn't know what it was at that point- and some of it got into Kid Danger's left eye and made it fuzzy. Really fuzzy- he saw almost nothing, and what he did see was about as clear as spray-painted cotton.

"It's fine," said Henry. "Schwoz said he's almost figured out what that stuff was, and then he can fix my eye. Until then I have to pretend I can still see."

"Yeah, it kind of ruined your vision." Both Charlotte and Henry had always had 20-20 eyesight and never needed glasses or anything. Everyone was always shocked at how well Charlotte could see, given how often she reads. "But you've done a pretty good job of hiding it from everyone, especially the kids."

Henry smiled a little. "Well, I did spend two hours in the Man Cave practicing with Ray." Charlotte smiled, too.

Henry frowned again. "What's wrong?" Charlotte frowned, too.

"It's just…" Henry scooted a little closer to her, "I hate lying to them."

"Me too."

"Yeah, although they think you work with computers somehow, which is partially true."

"Admittedly, yes. I wish I could tell them the truth."

"Me too."

When Henry and Charlotte told Ray the news, that they were expecting twins, he exploded with joy (almost literally). He did, however, put his foot down and say they weren't allowed to them then their secret. Yet, at least, he had said.

"I don't think they'd believe us, anyway." Henry added.

"Yeah," agreed Charlotte. "It might seem a bit unbelievable to them that their dad is Kid Danger. Even Jasper's reaction…" she grinned a little. So did Henry. "Yeah, that really had me scared. But it all worked out fine."

Charlotte scooted a little closer to Henry and rested her head on his shoulder. (Even as adults, he still towered over her by half a foot.)

Yeah, Henry and Charlotte definitely still had problems. But they had each other to deal with them.

And they would make sure the secret stayed safe.

…

Susie looked at her brother, her hand resting on the door to the back porch. "Did... _you_ just hear what _I_ just heard?"

"I think so." Jesse said. "You're mean Mommy saying that Daddy is Kid Danger?"

"Yeah. That's… that's a little weird."

Jesse opened his mouth to say something, but they heard Charlotte say, "Let's go inside, Henry. It's starting to get a little chilly out here."

Both children raced upstairs to the hallway where their next-door bedrooms were.

"I think," said Susie, "that we have some a mystery on our hands."

THE END

 ***sob* Well, that's it, folks. Thanks for sticking around and for all the reviews, they are very much appreciated!**

 **So, I promised a release date for my next story, so I shall give it to you guys: On Sunday, July 22, I will post my new story!**

 **See y'all later!**

 **Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


End file.
